Maelstrom of Emotions
by asashouryuu
Summary: Revised! Sasuke renounced his role as Otokage and returned to Konoha for his sun but Naruto was now contented to the Sasukeless life he now lead. However, the Uchiha heir decided to pursue the blonde. How long before the former gives up the chase?
1. Prologue: Struggle for Control

**Disclaimer: All Naruto characters belong to Kishimoto-san**

**Warning: Yaoi, OOC and unbeta-read**

**Main Pairing: Sasuke x Naruto**

**Author's Notes: I am so sorry for failing to update this story and when I did update, it was to start from the beginning again. However, I did a major revision and hopefully, the quality of this fic had improved. Please enjoy. Oh! By the way, I'll try to update this story as fast as I can as long as my work won't derail me. Once again, please enjoy.**

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_Drip.. Drip... Drip..._

_In the darkness that knew no bounds, knew no time, a pair of glowing red eyes were trained on the seal that steadily sizzled into nothing. He watched because between helping his pathetic container and talking with him, trying to convince him to take off the seal by himself, he had nothing else _to do_. He watched with anticipation knowing that the gradual erosion was a promise of his emancipation._

_Foolish humans. Over-confident humans.Infallible humans. The seal wasn't eternal. No sealing technique would last forever even if the exchange was the life of the technique user. They should have known that. _**He**_ should have known that._

_The demon laughed. Their ignorance was his fortune. Freedom was near and he would be resurrected and his container's body would be his very own... his new body and there won't be any limitations, just thousands of possibilities. That thought tickled him into laughing once more. _

Erode quickly. 

**Prologue: Struggle for Control**

Supposedly by this time of the night, silence reigned in Konoha and was only broken by the howls of the dogs and the cries of the infants, but not tonight. Tonight, Naruto's friends and few acquaintances were throwing him a party for having his ANBU application approved. Inwardly, Naruto thought that they were using his approval as an excuse to have a party from seven in the evening until god knows when without being criticized by anyone. Honestly, he didn't mind as long as his friends who he considered as his family were happy. It was fun to see them get together to relax and get wasted.

_The great Kyuubi mentally kissed the last shred of the seal before it disappeared to nothingness. Fangs bared, he grinned when the gates of his cage swung open in a loud swoosh. Freedom at last. _

_Involuntary, he purred at the rush of exhilaration when he took his first step from his cage. Step after step until his whole body was finally out. _

Naruto's chuckle was cut short when another pain shot through his system. At first it was just pain concentrated on his seal then days later, he felt prickly heat running through him making him feel uncomfortable. He had been dealing sharp pains and other feelings for the past two months now and he still had no idea what was going on. Kyuubi wasn't acting strange. His relationship with the fox demon hadn't changed. As much as he wanted to consult this matter to any of his female close friends, especially Tsunade, he was worried that they would blow this matter out of proportion and that would mean him being ordered to take endless day offs. He didn't want that.

Another pain shot through him, followed by an uncomfortable sparks of fire. His gut told him that something was happening that night and he had to get out fast. He hurriedly excused himself from Shino, who was looking at him worriedly, and walked towards the door. He was midway to it when another heat burst inside him and he blacked out for few seconds. When he regained consciousness, he felt that same heat flowing through his veins, burning his insides and his gaze bled red. Panic rose in him. Red! He was seeing everything in red and in slow movements too.

_He looked at the ground and frowned seeing that it was being flooded with water again. Obviously, his soon-to-be ex-landlord was getting under emotional stress once more. In fact, that and those whimpers he was hearing must be of his container's. Poor poor thing, but he was there to save him from misery. Now, operation 'take-over' would commence._

_It did not take long before red chakra flowed from Kyuubi's form and changed into a bubbly red liquid as it touched the ground, rivaling that murky water for dominance. _

Everybody jumped in surprise when all the glasses in the room shattered to pieces then gaped as they saw red aura slowly rising out from the still form of Naruto. They identified the chakra but were lost on how this came to be. In fact, all of them were frozen to the spot, their minds blank.

The aura was thickening and so was its intensity. The blonde swallowed back his shouts of pain as he tried to contain all the power that was flowing out from him. He needed to get out now and fast because the floor on which he stood was slowly crumbling under him and god knows what other damage he would cause, especially to others. As he slowly moved outside, his feet dug into the cement, leaving footprints.

The rush of cold wind broke everybody from their stupor and the confused at the same time worried Godaime barked her order, "Follow him." She had an idea where this was heading and somehow that scared her because the uncertainties were too many.

It wasn't difficult for anybody to find Naruto with the unintentional destruction he left on his trail. They found him in the training ground. He was kneeling, trembling and clutching his body while one hand dug into the ground, as if using it as his anchor.

"Naruto," Sakura yelled, ready to dive through that chakra, if it meant bringing comfort to her friend but Chouji held her back.

"It's dangerous, Sakura," he said. The kunoichi would have struggled more if not for Tsunade who tossed her a glare.

Tsunade didn't know what was going on but she seemed to have a pretty guess. Her instincts told her there would be damages and as much as possible, they should deal with it properly.

"I don't think I can contain Kyuubi's chakra this time," Yamato, who had been silently assessing the flowing chakra, told her.

"I don't think you can," she replied. For few seconds, she studied Naruto's state. Her sharp eyes took everything, sending information to her brain and letting it processed. 

"Tsunade," Jiraiya, who stood beside her, said. He took a glance of her just as she turned to look at everybody.

"Listen, everyone," came Tsunade's steady voice. "I don't know what's going on but it seemed Naruto is losing control on Kyuubi's chakra. Kyuubi's chakra is always erratic from what I heard so let us try to contain it." She paused to let her words sunk into them. The party mood was gone now, totally replaced with anxiety and fear. "Group yourselves in four and form a barrier." She then turned to look at Gaara, "I could have asked you to surround him with your sand but I won't be able to observe him so as a last resort, create a wall around this training ground. Make sure it won't get broken in any way. It will protect the village in case all barriers are broken." 

Gaara nodded before returning his gaze back at his suffering friend. His senses tingled. He could smell Kyuubi and almost felt Kyuubi. What was going on? 

Tsunade, being a Sannin, formed the innermost barrier all alone. Jiraiya followed Tsunade and formed the second barrier. Kakashi, Iruka, Udon and Izumo the third. Genma, Ebisu, Moegi and Raido the fourth. Shizune, Konohamaru, Kotetsu and Choiji the fifth. Temari, Ino, Shikamaru and Kurenai the sixth. Ibiki, Tenten, Lee and Sakura the seventh. Anko, Hinata, Kankuro and Shino did the eight. Asuma, Gai, Kiba and Neji the eighth.

All of them were tensed not knowing what would happen and when. The first power surge came few seconds and the trees rustled responding to the power. They could see Naruto's silhouette as he was now engulfed with the crimson aura. Two successive power backlashes came with the second power surge and it destroyed four barriers bringing the creators to their knees, gasping for breath and weak to restore the barriers immediately.

_His container started screaming. He grinned. Ah- the joys of bringing pain to someone. Very intoxicating._

_"Asshole!" a voice shaking with anger, spat. He slowly turned his head to the right and regarded his furious landlord who for almost six years had demanded a very expensive rental payment from him. "You tore the seal!"_

_"No, boy," he answered in a condescending voice. "I would have done it a long time ago if I could. This is bound to happen. And if you aren't such a simpleton, you should have known it when you were able to access more of my chakra."_

_"You bastard!" Naruto spat and lunged forward. _

_Kyuubi swung his three tails and Naruto immediately leaped backward to where the fox demon's four other tails were waiting for him. Blue eyes widened when those tails wrapped around his wrists and ankles, keeping him suspended in the air. When he struggled, those tails pulled his arms and legs apart to their limit, making him scream. Despite it, he still glared at his ungrateful tenant._

_"You're helpless," Kyuubi told him. "The Uchiha brat can't save you now." _

_"I don't need that bastard."_

_Kyuubi heartily nodded his head in agreement. "Of course you don't," he replied in a voice that was akin to cooing, if demons could coo. "Nobody will need you because you. will. be. NO. MORE!" With that said, his harmful chakra flowed from his tails that bound Naruto._

_Naruto screamed in pain. It hurt. It burned. It burned too much that he thought that this burning pain he felt right now was probably like being thrown into a lake of lava. Few of his organs were tightening. He was suffocating. He was going to die. He was letting himself die. Would he allow that? Could he?_

_**Usuratonkachi.**_

_At that mocking tone, he fought and struggled but what could a mere human do against a great demon? Nothing. And Kyuubi made sure that the blonde understood such hard fact well by discharging more chakra. Looking at those angry blue eyes- the only part that wasn't covered by his chakra yet, the fox demon said, "To show my thanks to you, I will torture those who had discriminated you before killing them." A hateful glare was the last thing he saw before the boy was completely cocooned by his chakra. He felt Naruto struggle until the boy's last shred of consciousness. Poor silly boy. With Naruto gone, the water lost its strength and it evaporated due to the heat of Kyuubi's chakra. The water vapor that hung over the place lent a gloomy atmosphere to the whole place as if it was mourning for Naruto's disappearance, but it was not something Kyuubi could not endure._

_Naruto was gone and Kyuubi laughed victoriously. This battle had been won so easily yet it was so meaningful to him because it meant his freedom and Konoha's inevitable obliteration. It was time to fix this battered body that had become his._

_A malicious look graced his face as awareness of the outside world started sinking into his senses. He saw light and trees. He felt the gentleness of the wind and the hardness of the soil. He heard shouts. He smelled fear, anxiety and worry lading the combined chakra. Ah such sweet sensations. Then in a split second, those were taken away from him when he was plunged back to that darkness... to that place._

_Drip... Drip... Drip..._

_That dripping sound again..._

_He gasped when a streak of pain ripped through him. His gaze search for that wretched cage which had melted a while ago, thinking that it was there again, but it wasn't. There was just his chakra and that vapor._

_Funny, that vapor was getting thicker._

_Kyuubi growled when his surrounding was distorted then went back to normal in a split of second. It had happened over and over again in less than thirty seconds causing pain to throb in his head. There it was again. That distortion._

_It took him a moment to realize that it wasn't his surrounding that was being stretched but his sight._

_He scowled when a scent wafted to his nose. Naruto's chakra's scent, but there was something strange about it. There was something different about it. It was Naruto's chakra, yet at the same time, wasn't. The composition was slightly different. It wasn't friendly nor was it hostile. _

_Kyuubi made a noise of irritation and displeasure. Before he could figure out what made the composition different, a wave of pain rendered him to crumble to the ground in a heap._ _Then that strange chakra rose up and like a whip, lashed forward and wrapped around him. However, that wasn't the end of it. That chakra started crawling on his skin and seeping inside, causing him unspeakable pain. _ _He howled. He was being eaten; being destroyed; being conquered. And the more he tried to rid of it with his chakra, the faster it crawled along his skin. He was disintegrating._

Naruto was screaming, writhing in pain after the second power surge. He could hear not only his anguish but also of Kyuubi's. Both of them cursing the Fourth and blaming each other for what they were going through. He felt like his insides were being twisted and his whole nervous system being scorched. Blood and saliva were dripping from his mouth as he clutched his chest that felt like exploding. This whole thing brought a new meaning to pain. He yelled a curse as he felt another shot of power bursting through him.

Naruto's loud curse came as a warning to the others. Four rapid backlashes destroyed the remaining barriers inflicting pain on those who maintained it. The ground shuddered beneath their feet and the air crackled.

The blonde gasped for air, wondering how much long he could bear this 'torture'.

_The strange chakra continued working on, breaking him down into subatomic level and that subatomic particles that look like glittering dust moved to the mist hovering above the place for screening. Only those particles that were compatible to Naruto went past and those that weren't were released as power backlash - power backlashes that were more powerful than those previous ones._

_Kyuubi roared. He was more than in pain. Death was better than this. That blonde who sealed him must have known about this boy's two different chakra; about the curse that was flowing through his veins. He screamed and thrashed around, hoping to escape, but he knew there was none. Hopelessness was a word he didn't know until now._

Screams.

Ear-splitting screams were the sound that Naruto slowly became aware of. And the clearer and louder it got, he became more conscious of a heat that seemed to burn him. He fought back that awareness, wanting nothing else but the serenity and silence that cocooned him. But obviously, he had no say to that matter because he was rudely and suddenly pulled out from that place and it hit him awhile later that, it was him who was screaming and that the burning heat was within him. His insides were burning and being twisted ten times stronger than few moments ago. His throat was dry. Hell! His whole body was dry as fire licked him thoroughly. Every part of his body was in pain but he couldn't stop screaming. Screaming was the only outlet he found to express his sufferings.

As if that wasn't enough, there were images floating his mind, images he hadn't seen or known in his lifetime. There were voices too. Voices that whispered a lot of things. In their speed, they were overlapping each other until they were merging into one big buzzing sound that accompanied the whirling big blotch the images in his head had become. It was an excruciating madness.

Stop.

Stop this!

Naruto pleaded and begged. He asked for an escape but what he received was more pain... more confusion. 

Frustrated and unable to bear that scalding heat, he tore his shirt open and clawed his skin, in his attempt to put out the fire that was within him. Red line markings appeared on his skin where his nails, which had grown sharp and long few seconds ago mercilessly dug.

Stop.

Clutching his chest and clenching his eyes shut, he leaned forward. He wanted to vomit that acrid heavy thing that was lodged within him less he would explode but what came out was just his saliva. He made a lot of gagging sounds until what came out from his mouth was blood, but it wasn't enough. It was still there. Everything that shouldn't be there was still there. 

A streak of pain with intensity beyond words shot through his whole body and Naruto arched his back and screamed to the heavens. Unbeknownst to him, he released the strongest power backlash.

In a second, his body was as taut as a bow then the next,it was limp and falling to the ground. Naruto reached out a hand to the sky which was growing distant as he fell. He didn't feel the pain when his body hit the battered ground because he was too engrossed with his hand. Looking at his nails with skin patches and dried blood in their edges, a thought that he had merged with Kyuubi came to him. As shocking as that thought was, he had no reaction. He just lay there, gasping and waiting for that moment when pain and heat would engulf him again.

The burst of heavy pressure and the rumbling of the ground warned everyone who were forming chakra barrier that another power backlash had been released and this time, the strongest so far.

They released their chakra at its maximum limit, hoping that their combined force would contain the power backlash. Their skin tingled and they were pushed back when the heavy red chakra collided against their barrier. Then in a split of second, it pulled back to the heart of it all before exploding, sending the group flying backwards.

The impact caused rips on few people's clothes, cuts on some people's skin and numbed others like Sakura. And if it weren't for a bruised Shikamura who pulled her back with his shadow technique, the pink-haired kunoichi would have been flattened by a boulder free falling from the sky. 

"Naruto?" Tsunade asked in a loud voice so she'd be heard from the sounds of debris hitting the ground. A lot of them stared at the thick cloud of soil which had been lifted from the power backlashes and from the explosion. All of them wondered if Naruto had made it.

Kiba looked at Akamaru hopefully. Akamaru had been trained to look for a scent even in a situation with zero visibility but his dog, after sticking his nose in the air, let out a whimper. Kiba looked at Chouji and shook his head. "He can't find him. The cloud of soil is too thick."

"From the way it looks like, it will take a maximum of a week for these to settle. We can't wait that long. Hell, we can't wait," Kankuro said.

"We're pretty out of chakra to use a technique to get rid of them," Ino said. No sooner did she say, the soil particles started moving to one direction, like iron particles attracted to magnets. They looked at the direction where the attraction came from and saw an exhausted Gaara controlling them like the way he controlled his sands. In his exhausted state, he was having a hard time but the clouds were thinning out. Unfortunately, Gaara couldn't take it anymore and collapsed. Kankuro immediately ran to check his brother's condition.

Wanting to finish what her brother had started out, Temari spread her fan and with all her remaining chakra summoned a technique to blow the rest of the clouds of dust away.

And those who were capable of moving, ran to the huge crater and stopped when their gaze landed on a being lying prone on the center of the crater.

"Naruto?" Jiraiya yelled from above.

The being didn't answer but he moved and staggered to his feet. That was enough for Tsunade and Iruka to skid downward and approached the blonde who was no longer blond.

"Naruto?" Iruka asked in a doubtful voice. He had every right to be doubtful because the man standing didn't look like the Naruto he knew and watched over throughout the years. The man in front of him was tall- inhumanely tall, had tails, had golden red hair reaching past his hips and his whisker-like scars were more pronounced. And when this being opened his mouth to speak, Iruka saw his fangs and they looked very sharp.

Naruto tried to get rid of the white blotches at the edges of his sight when Iruka and Tsunade came to him. With one glance, he became engrossed with the lines old age made on Tsunade's face. They looked more pronounced than those times he had seen her in her real physical appearance. With mirth, he uttered, "Old hag." Then, he collapsed.

Sakura, who was still sitting on the same place where Shikamaru pulled her to safety awhile ago, continued staring at the crater. She was waiting for her master and Iruka to emerge with Naruto. She became even more worried when Kakashi, Jiraiya, Izumo and Raidoh disappeared into the crater. She didn't know what she expect but she certainly didn't expect to see the mentioned four to be carrying a man who didn't look like Naruto but one look at Iruka's and Tsunade's worried faces affirmed what her heart was screaming. That unconscious man was Naruto and he could be dead.

Sakura could have chosen to cry but she had learned that crying won't help her from her helpless state. Staring at her right arm, she ordered it to move. Move! Move, dammit! because Naruto... 

_I don't want to lose him. Not him. Never him._

With those desperate and sincere words, her fingers twitched. And from there, it wasn't difficult to let her hand move to her pouch, search for and bring a small test tube against her mouth so she could drink the yellow-greenish content.

Sakura slightly grimaced as that sweet liquid burned its way down to her throat. Seconds later, she felt her strength humming through her muscles then roaring and she could move again. It was good she always had that liquid and it was good she downed the whole contents rather than took a sip which was the normal dosage but this was Kyuubi's chakra's doing so extreme was normal. Sakura let out a snort as she jumped to her feet and bolted forward, surprising Ino and Hinata.

"Tell me what needs to be done," Sakura said the moment she caught up with her mentor.

"Examinations, but for now let us get him to my lab."

**-SasuNaru is love-**

"I brought you the medical history files of Minato Namikaze and Uzumaki Kushina," Shizune said as she placed the thick file folder on Tsunade's table filled with medical books since four days ago. She silently sighed when Tsunade remained quiet. Obviously, her superior was still in her contemplating mood. Shizune wondered what had Tsunade found out about Naruto's DNA that sent her barking orders for Sakura to get more DNA sample and for her to retrieve few medical books from the library as well as bring Naruto's parents' medical records. Then after spending more hours in her laboratory, Tsunade finally stepped out to sit behind her hokage desk, reading and contemplating. This was the first time Shizune saw her doing all the tasks rather than designating them to her and Sakura. 

Tsunade let out a sigh and tossed back the medical records Shizune had brought awhile ago. She still couldn't find answers. She whirled her chair around to look at the busy streets of Konoha.

She couldn't believe that all along Naruto had two sets of cells. He was a chimera and all her testings showed that she hadn't been mistaken. In addition, one set was mutated which she believed to be a result of his 'merging' with Kyuubi. She frowned when the same boggling questions came to her mind again. What had caused this merging? What had made the seal disappear? What were Naruto's traits now?

She couldn't come up with theories as to why that seal disappeared. She had checked the scroll of the forbidden ninjutsu but found nothing about its time limit being mentioned. However, after all the thinking she did while teetering between being sober and drunk, she thought that there was a possibility that the seal had its limit. And that made her come up with an assumption as to why the merging came but that was all, an assumption.

Taking into account that Kyuubi's chakra was harmful even in a small amount, a large amount would be fatal to Naruto. With the seal gone, there was no holding back for Kyuubi to release his chakra to the maximum. With that long exposure, Naruto's dominant cell set was damaged. With the damage set, few of his organs must had been malfunctioning placing him in a life-threatening situation. Out of self-preservation on Kyuubi's part, he released a big amount to fix Naruto's body and that amount together with the boy's will not to lose had awakened the dormant cell set. And it reacted strongly to Kyuubi's in a way that it decomposed Kyuubi and fixed the damage parts of DNA set, causing the dominant set to be mutated. 

Tsunade bumped her head against her chair, trying to stop the dull headache from becoming a full blown one. Was her assumption plausible? She glanced at all the books and records lying on her desk, irritated that none of them could answer her questions.

She sighed and stared at the ceiling. With this merging, what would happen to Naruto who was not only a chimera but also a hanyou? How would Naruto react? How would he live his life now? When would Naruto wake up so she could run some physical tests and see how far had his capabilities changed?

**-SasuNaru is love-**

Naruto made a displeased growl at the back of his throat, disliking the noise that rocked his cradle made of warm silence. He buried his head under the pillow but the noise persisted. So annoying.

_Leave me alone._

The more awake he was, the clearer he heard it and it wasn't one sound alone. There were the sounds of footsteps; of snoring; of dripping water; and of which he always associated to heartbeats. 

Unable to stand it anymore, he bolted to a sitting position and immediately wished that he didn't. The smell of medicine and alcohol assaulted his nostrils making him sneeze; making his stomach flip.

He sat up straight when he heard that distinctive sound of a window being opened. Even before he turned towards his left, he knew it was Jiraiya, judging by the scent that wafted to his nose.

"So you're awake," he heard his perverted mentor shout.

He frowned. "Where am I?" he yelled back. 

Jiraiya's left eyebrow twitched. "In Tsunade's examination room next to her office."

Naruto looked around. Well, the place did look like Tsunade's lab if he would really think about it, but was it this dirty and were the cracks on the walls and ceilings this many? Hmm... He shrugged his shoulders. Now that he knew where he was, he should deal the next thing that irritated him- the pervert shouting at him. "Don't yell!" 

Jiraiya looked baffled. "You're the one who's yelling," he stated. Naruto stared at him, as if such statement was very difficult for him to understand and perhaps at that very moment, it was. 

The older shinobi sighed in exasperation, checking his urge to hit his disciple in the head. "Give me your arm."

"I told you, stop yel-"

"Your arm!" Jiraiya, this time, shouted. Naruto's loud voice was making his head throbbed. 

Scowling, the younger shinobi thrust his left arm and then gaped at the arm brace Jiraiya placed around his arm. 

"What the-" He stopped shouting when he realized that there were few sounds he could hear now and all of them weren't as loud as they were. In addition, those few cracks on the wall weren't as obvious as he saw them. "Something strange is happening."

Jiraiya snorted. "You think so?" 

Naruto looked at him, eyes slightly dazed. He looked like he was slowly remembering something which he thought to be a dream. Jiraiya was right when he heard the young man mumble, "Kyuubi." He looked sentimental when he placed a hand on his abdomen. He didn't understand the whole process or the reason. All he knew was that Kyuubi had merged with him and with that, what was he now?

"Jiraiya-sensei," he started, surprising the older man with that serious voice as well as the absence of rude name calling. He continued looking at his hand and when he continued, his voice slightly faltered. "What am I now?"

"Good question," Tsunade said from the door. She looked at Naruto, surprised that he looked like the way he used to until she noticed the arm band on the boy. _A power limiter, eh?_ She quirked an eyebrow to her former teammate who nodded.

"How do you feel?" she asked.

"I have no idea," Naruto replied. "For the whole part, confused." With the same serious voice he used awhile ago, he asked, "What now, baachan?"

Tsunade opened her mouth, closed it then opened it again. "I don't know, but I"ll tell you everything I learned since then, but first, I want to run physical examinations on you."

Naruto looked despondent for awhile before he nodded. "Let's do it now."

That was how Sakura and Shizune were called into a lab and when they saw Naruto in his new form without him wearing his power limiter, they blushed. Naruto now stood about seven feet tall; his physique emanates feline grace and strength; his face more angular and refined; he had fangs, gleaming with sharpness, protrude from his mouth; his ears were longer and pointed; his eyes were cat-like and golden and the scar marks on his cheeks were no longer there. His hair which used to be golden blond had turned to a golden wine-red and had reached past his hips. Lastly, he had nine tails of different lengths and color ranging from silver, white and gold. Naruto wasn't beautiful nor was he handsome. He was alluring and that was what made concentration on their work a little bit hard.

**-SasuNaru is love-**

After few hours, Tsunade looked at the expectant faces of Jiraiya, Sakura, Shizune, Iruka and Naruto before she took a deep breath to explain. "Naruto, have you ever heard about chimera?"

There was a flicker of confusion on the blonde's face before he shrugged, "A monstrous creature whose body parts came from multiple animals." However, in his answer, there was a silent question, Is that what I am?

"Genetically speaking, you're wrong. In the field of genetics, chimera refers to someone who has two or more populations of genetically distinct cells."

"Tsunade-sama," Iruka started, taking advantage of the silence that followed her explanation, "is that what Naruto is?"

"Is this caused by the merging?" Sakura asked while keeping eyes on her eerily quiet friend. "Because Naruto's records said nothing about him being genetically engineered or him being a recipient of organ transplantation or transfusion."

"And I can guarantee that he was conceived by Minato and Kushina in a natural way without any science help," Jiraiya stated.

The three became quiet again when a vein on the hokage's left temple started twitching. "No, Naruto is a chimera from the very start. Being orphaned and isolated, there had been no chances of his DNA being checked. I am certain that this certain characteristic is inherited from either Minato or Kushina or was caused by mutation during development."

Sakura's heart seemed to break when she noticed how Naruto clenched his fists. She couldn't see his eyes now because he had bowed his head and shadows painted his face. "Then if, I mean, he is a chimera, that means he have two sets of chakra, no?"

"The chakra you felt from him is a combination of what chakra his sets of cells provide through his organs."

"What's this got to do with the merging?" Naruto asked quietly, eyes still focused on a particular part of the floor. Hearing how quiet and calm his voice was, the others grimaced.

"Exposure to Kyuubi's chakra destroys your cells. I'm sure everybody here understands that. Now, what I'm about to say is just a theory I came up after tests and research. Long exposure to that demon's chakra in full amount caused damage to Naruto's dominant set of cells. His organs composed of that set of cells malfunctioned. Kyuubi, like always when Naruto received injuries, healed them, but his chakra awakened the dormant cell set."

Hearing that, Naruto's jaw clenched. He remembered the pain, the suffocation, the sudden exhaustion of his body, the tightness of his chest and then the feeling that he was floating. He remembered the finality of him dying. Perhaps, that was what Tsunade meant. Perhaps, that time when he felt himself light and detached from his body... from _that_ place, he was actually dying, but if that was the case, why was he still alive?

"From my tests, his other set of cells reacted strongly to Kyuubi - a foreign and threatening entity. Basing from this, without that dominance and with that dying set of cells, the other set worked full-time. This set, from what I had seen, was capable of breaking down Kyuubi so I assumed that a chakra from this set might had swallowed the fox demon, broke him down to replace the damaged DNA resulting to a mutated cell set and flushed out the rest that were not needed by Naruto's body. I have no idea if this is part of a chakra's behavior or a special case." 

"But from what I heard, Kyuubi was a spirit," Sakura said, obviously confused.

"A spirit who could have a corporeal form whenever he pleased using his chakra." The blond kunoichi raised her hands to massage her temples, "And like I said. This is just my theory."

Was that the reason then? Was that why he became aware of the world again? Returned to his living hell which was nothing but pain and screams? He didn't completely believed the theory but it was the only explanation he knew; the only explanation that was given to him. He was a chimera with one mutated cell set. What was he now? A chimera and a mutant? Or simply put, a monster? Naruto quickly swallowed the lump of tears from his throat.

"And now... what am I? A chimera? A mutant? A monster?" he asked while raising his head to look at them with eyes glinting with something akin to mad panic; to judge their expression; to observe their reaction towards him.

"Naruto!" Iruka chided.

"You're a hanyou," Shizune supplied for him and regretted her action when those enchanting eyes focused their attention solely on her.

"A hanyou," Naruto seemed to purr in a dangerous tone, "what is that?"

"An offspring between a human and a demon or someone who has a demon blood. Your blood is tainted now and your physical examination shows that you have certain characteristics that are associated to a hanyou," Tsunade answered.

"A hanyou," Naruto repeated and this time, he seemed to be tasting the word; testing how it felt rolling off from his tongue. "A hanyou and a chimera." _Not one of them. Never one of them. Always an outcast. _He instinctively tensed when Tsunade moved closer to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I know thinking straight right now is very difficult for you but I want you to listen and do what I must ask you. You have to train with Jiraiya as soon as possible. With all these changes, everything will be awkward until you'll get used to everything that happened to you. Your movements, your chakra control-"

"I understand," Naruto said.

Tsunade nodded and looked at others. "Sakura, return Naruto's medical file to our record section, Shizune take Naruto out from the active list and Jiraiya, I want to talk to you privately."

Few seconds later, there was just Naruto and Iruka in the examination room, and the latter was giving the younger male worried glances. For the first time since he had known Naruto, Iruka had a hard time trying to start a conversation with the usually boisterous boy. Talking about matters cheerfully would make him insensitive; if he'd talk about serious stuffs, he might plunged Naruto deeper to depression; and if he would start giving him assurances, the other might not need it. What was he going to do? He was at his wit's end.

"Sensei?" he heard Naruto mutter in a whisper.

Surprised, he answered, "Eh?" Then beneath the soft glow of the dying sun, he saw something glistened at it fell from Naruto's face and he knew that the younger male was crying.

"When will my being cursed stop? Why am I always an outcast?" Naruto asked in a strained voice. Being a container, his life had never been easy especially when in the eyes of many, he was the demon and now, that accusation was true. He was a demon. A half-demon, the sadistic part of him blithely corrected. He was an outcast from both humans and demons. He would never belong to any group.

Outcast. Alone.

"Naruto," Iruka replied softly, "I don't know what happens now and I only have a guess about the changes that will occur around you, but there's one thing I'm sure of: None of your friends will abandon you." His chest tightened when those golden eyes looked at him with bleak hope. In front of him was a very powerful being, probably the most powerful shinobi and yet, despite all strengths, he was also the weakest, if anyone knew where and how to attack him. To others, this new Naruto was probably what they could call as a god but to those who completely knew him, he was nothing but a mere human who suffered too much. He squeezed Naruto's shoulders as a sign of assurance. 

_I'll always stand by you._

A day later, when Naruto left the hospital for his training with Jiraiya, all of his peers were waiting for him. He received smiles from the girls and pats on the back from the guys. They were wishing him luck. Seeing them with no hatred or disgust in their eyes although they knew what he was, made his heart ached with relief. Having them close, Naruto was, for the first time, glad he had survived the ordeal of the merging.

**TBC**

* * *

**My head almost exploded trying to come up with this idea and it still sounded so... Anyway, comments are appreciated.**


	2. Overcast

**Standard disclaimer applies.**

**SasuNaru, yaoi, OOC and of course, unbeta-read looks sheepish**

* * *

Uchiha Sasuke never expected that it would take seven years before he found himself standing in front of the gates of the village he had abandoned for power. At this time, he was no longer the twelve year old boy who was weak. In his place was a young man with power and strength that defeated and killed Orochimaru, Itachi and Madara. His body emanated what he had gained and he never bothered to hide nor flaunt it. His smirk grew more visible as he smelled fear from the guards on duty although in the outside they looked calm and arrogant.

The guards did not need to ask to know who the man was. Anybody could tell just by his looks and his arrogance.

"What do you want?" one guard asked warily.

"I need to talk with your Hokage."

"For what purpose?"

"None of your business."

And the look on Sasuke's face discouraged them from asking further. One guard volunteered to inform the Godaime while the rest watched the visitor at the same time trying not to cower under the powerful aura the said man was emitting.

**Chapter 1: Overcast**

Few minutes later, Sasuke found himself inside the hokage office and under the wary gaze of Tsunade who looked relax but he knew she was ready for any suspicious movements coming from his part. He mentally snorted. As if, he had come here to cause trouble, but the blond hokage didn't know that, but she would few seconds from now.

Tsunade looked at the former Konoha ninja, wondering whether she should pay the respect Sasuke deserved or treat him for the traitor that he was and in the end, she just politely inclined the lad to sit on a chair.

Somehow she still could not believe of what had become of him. Almost two years ago, report from their spies had stated that Sasuke managed to kill Orochimaru and Kabuto and took over the leadership of the Hidden village of Sound. Under his leadership, he barred relations with the other countries except for commercial contacts which were managed in a very strict manner. This seclusion lasted for fifteen months and when it ended, the village had become more powerful than before and was considered a threat by all villages especially that the current Otokage refused any alliances. Four months after the end of this seclusion, Tsunade received reports that the Otokage had killed Itachi and then later on, another Akatsuki member who went by the name of Tobi whose real identity was Madara Uchiha. And now, the said Otokage was in front of her sitting arrogantly.

"What do you want, Sasuke? Or should I call you Otokage-sama now?" Tsunade asked in a pleasant voice.

"I had given that title to Hanzaki of the Fuuma clan. As a request from him, he asks the village's assistance to govern Sound."

The Godaime was surprised but was able to immediately gather her composure, "For what purpose?"

Sasuke shrugged. "Nobody thought Orochimaru would be defeated so nobody entertained the prospect of leading the village. Hanzaki-san needed someone to help him until he is completely capable."

"Why don't you?"

Sasuke pursed his lips, eyebrows slightly drawn together before he answered, "I have no interest to stay longer in that village." Such answer made the woman arched an eyebrow, but he ignored it to continue, "With Konoha's help, he won't put the village in danger because of his inefficiency as a leader. Also, the villagers want to build an unquestionable good reputation and for that they need a strong influence from a strong village. Who fits the role better than Konoha?"

"I don't think Konoha should waste time on another village."

The lad ignored that statement as he was more intent in convincing the hokage. "Hanzaki-san is a man of intelligence. He'll learn quickly. Also, it's not wasting time but investing it."

"Investing? How so?"

"Don't you want it? A very powerful village almost under Konoha's rule? With all the Sound Ninjas whose skills rival that of the other villages' ANBU, at your dispatch for quite awhile?" Sasuke asked. He had to make sure that Konoha would accept. It had to be Konoha and no other villages because Konoha was part of his grand plan.

"What's in store for Konoha after this?"

"An unquestionable alliance."

She raised an eyebrow as she considered the offer. It was not bad. In fact it was too good especially that one of the five recognized villages could watch the activities of Sound. However, she still needed this to be discussed with the elders.

"What about you, Sasuke? Are you going back to Sound?"

Sasuke almost wanted to roll his eyes at that question. He wouldn't be here, offering something other villages want if he planned to continue living in Sound, would he? "I'd like to live here again. And for that, I am ready to accept any punishment for the crimes I had committed."

"Here?" Surprised.

The younger one nodded.

"Why?" Tsunade asked, eyes curious.

Sasuke didn't have to pause a second to answer that question. "Because this is home," he said. _Because Naruto is here..._

**-SasuNaru is love-**

Naruto yawned and stretched his arms. God, he missed the smell of leaves and soil that Konoha distinctively offer, although he was just gone from the village for three days. All the way to the administration district of the town, he walked with a slight bounce in his steps, his eyes darting to the food stalls which he promised himself to drop by after handing his mission report to Tsunade.

"Naruto, welcome home," Neji, greeted as he joined him and together, they walked into the main administration building.

The blonde was already used to the other boy's flat tone and just smiled. "I miss you too, Neji." His smile faltered a bit as he noticed Neji's troubled look. It wasn't so obvious and it didn't stay long, but after years of hanging out with him, he could identify his emotions so well.

"I don't know if this is trouble or not. I am not even so sure if I should tell you this but... _that_ Uchiha is here. I was one of the ANBU guards who led him to Hokage-sama's office and led him back to the guest room last night. There is something going on, Naruto, although, I am not sure what."

"That's great!" his friend quipped.

"You're the only one who is happy about this."

"Oh. I am not happy at all. I am thrilled!" And his face and blue eyes hardened as he added, "I can't wait to show that bastard that I made it this far without him." With this said, he left Neji, who was staring at him with eyes that were troubled at the same time, worried.

A smiling Naruto barged into Godaime's office without any warning, making Tsunade frown although she should had been used to Naruto's manners or lack there of.

"Here's the report."

"I'm surprised you came right straight here. I thought you would be running to the guest room to greet Sasuke."

The shinobi shrugged. He suddenly looked jaded than he should be. "I would have done that but things have changed. I have changed."

Tsunade was one among the few who was aware how far he had changed and sometimes, she just wanted to pretend that she didn't know because knowing about this matter sometimes proved to be too much for her. When Naruto turned his gaze to the potted plant at one corner of the office, she didn't miss the sadness in his face and she was helpless because no matter what they do, that sadness never went away. It tainted those once pristine blue eyes of his, but his eyes weren't the only thing it had tainted. Everything that made him the old Naruto carried the stain of Sasuke's betrayal and together with that merging incident, it changed him into someone who preferred solitude and brooding to company and pranks. Sometimes he brood too much and became an introvert every now and then. The only thing that kept him grounded were his friends.

"I have a meeting with the council half past ten in the morning about Uchiha. Would you like to attend?" she asked almost cheerfully. As her official successor, she, sometimes, invited Naruto to join council meetings and asked for his input later on.

The lad shook his head. "I promised Hinata I'll see her as soon as I get back from the mission."

"I see." _You're running away, aren't you? _Tsunade knew that and she decided that she'd let Naruto have that luxury for the meantime.

"Just make sure he gets what he deserved," was all he said before he left.

She smiled then. She knew that Naruto acted like he no longer gave a damn about his former (he insisted that they use this word every time they refer to Sasuke as his friend) best friend but deep down inside, it was otherwise. He was fooling everyone especially himself.

_No matter how far you have moved on, a part of you is still stuck in the past, isn_'_t it, Naruto? Or perhaps, you are bringing your dead friendship with Sasuke with you no matter where you go?_

**-Sasunaru is love-**

Sasuke sat at the edge of the bed he had occupied last night. Before the Hokage dismissed him and he was silently led by the five ANBU guards away, he was told to stay at one of the guest rooms until he would be summoned to the council meeting.

Speaking of ANBU, he was aware that there were few of them who were stationed outside his room, but their number meant nothing to him _if_ he wanted to escape or stop him from doing anything harmful to the village. Luckily, his plans did not include those things. In fact, all of his plans were something related to Naruto.

_Naruto..._

Just the thought of him made his heart skipped few beats. He knew he had a lot of hell to pay for what he did and he intended to pay all of them. Somehow, his gut told him that the blonde would make it hard for him; that there would be a lot of beatings but he didn't care. He wouldn't mind losing everything just to win him back and as a start he had given up privileges entitled to the Otokage, hell he had renounced that title.

He looked up when he heard the door being opened and entering his room was none other than his former teacher who still had half of his face buried into that orange book and giggling. However, the moment the door was closed behind him, Kakashi closed his favorite book in a snap and looked at Sasuke.

Sasuke seemed to be surprised. Whatever image he had for Kakashi after years of not seeing him proved to be wrong. There was no traces of time on him. He looked exactly like when he had met him for the first time. Was he using a jutsu similar to the Godaime?

"It's been awhile, Sasuke." Kakashi greeted cheerfully, pulling the boy from his thoughts. There was a tug on his heart seeing Sasuke again. It was like having a family member coming back to you. Ah The sentimentality of a teacher towards one of his first and only three students.

Merely acting on reflex, the younger man just nodded. "Did the council members ask for me now?"

"The meeting has not yet started. There will be another person who'll take you to the meeting."

"Then why are you here?"

"Just wanted to see you after seven years," Kakashi answered flippantly, while thumbing the edges of his precious book.

The jounin thoughtfully looked at his former student who returned his gaze indifferently. The younger man was a bit lanky. He had grown his hair past his shoulders and tied it in a ponytail. In one look, he resembled like Itachi yet he was more attractive than his brother and more dangerous. There was something about him that made Kakashi's nerves tingle with alertness. Was it because of the dark vibes he felt coming from him or the knowledge that this boy in front of him, managed to kill three very powerful men?

Giving his usual charming smile, he decided to start some little conversation. "You have reached far. I never thought you would become the otokage." It never crossed his mind actually. A lot of things never did. "The robe must look good on you more than it did on Orochimaru."

Sasuke remained silent.

Well, what did he expect? A talkative and less cold Uchiha? He might as well continue with this one-sided conversation, he thought. "With the three of you following the path of the sannin, I thought history is repeating itself. However, I"m glad you strayed away from that path Orochimaru clearly loved to travel."

A scowl appeared on the younger man's face upon hearing that name. He directly looked at the older man in the eye and said, "Don't get me wrong, Kakashi. I only took that road in order for me to get stronger. Nothing more, nothing less."

Kakashi's face became serious as he asked, "Did you feel satisfied?"

Sasuke threw him a glare.

The older man kept on grinning. "And now, it's time for your second goal. And the reason why you're here is because there was no girl in Sound that meets all the qualifications of an Uchiha wife. Konoha had and have the best." He finished with a mocking tone, but he wasn't exactly wrong. Konoha produced powerful ninjas enough to even lead a band of dangerous and powerful rogue ninjas.

"I'm not here for that," was his clipped reply.

Kakashi tilted his head to the side, looking doubtful. "Maybe you are, maybe you aren't, but in any case, let's have a team reunion dinner sometime soon after everything is settled." Without waiting for Sasuke to comment on his idea, he stood up, obviously deciding that, yes, there would be dinner reunion for team seven. "I'll talk to Sakura about this."

"Kakashi, wait-" Sasuke was cut off by the soft sound of the closing door. He cursed, he was not ready to meet his former teammates, especially Naruto. _And yet, you're impatient to see him_, his mind gleefully stated, _Breathlessly waiting for him to walk past that door._

**-SasuNaru is love-**

Sasuke stood in front of all council members who were silently judging him at the same time, warily looking at him. The awkward and tensed silence was broken as someone briefed him with what was being discussed.

After that, he was asked to recount his battle with Orochimaru. As he told them he felt pride that always went with his memories of the battle, rising within him. He defeated the snake-bastard with his own power although he had to use the heaven seal.

Next, he was asked to recount his fight against his brother. He wasn't so happy to recall it. In fact, he shuddered as he recalled the blood bath. He had to fight Kisame before he could reach his brother. He knew his brother didn't expect Kisame to kill him, he just wanted his partner to weaken him so he could easily be defeated. Such method didn't sound like Itachi's but he had become wary of Sasuke's strength and power when he learned that Orochimaru was killed by him. And with Kisame's sword, he couldn't use chakra without the risk of being absorbed so he could only use taijutsu. But at the end, he managed to kill Kisame and faced his brother in a weak state. He almost died but managed to pull through to kill Itachi. At the end of the battle he was hovering between life and death, not that he cared anyway. His clan had been half-avenged, all he had to do was seek the man who had lured his brother into this abyss of blood and death.

After drinking the fast-reacting drugs which were body performance boost and chakra improvement and which were specially made for him by Karin, he resumed his search, almost dragging himself. Just when the drugs were taking its effect, he found Madara, arrogantly sitting and obviously expecting to be found.

Seeing him with that smirk, sent him over the edge. He saw red and it had nothing to do with his Sharingan. With ten different hand signs performed in quick successive execution, he forced open his first three chakra gates. However, sometime in the middle of their fierce battle, with the tide against him, he opened three more gates.

He couldn't vividly recall the battle so he couldn't give a blow-by-blow account, all he remembered was the exhilaration of fighting, of the impact between powerful techniques and finally, the sickening feeling of having his chidori-powered arm thrust through Madara's body, in one fluid and desperate move. Then the next thing he knew, he was falling to the ground... falling into the abyss... into the darkness.

After his long and uninterrupted recount, the council members took turns in asking. Contrary to his expectation, the elders questions weren't much related to his battle. Did that mean that they believed him? Or that they didn't see any importance to know how the three great threats to the village died?

"What was the purpose of the isolation of the village?"

"Rebuilding of the village. A lot of internal matters needed to be settled caused by Orochimaru's defeat and it is best dealt without any factors from the outside."

"Such as?"

"Such as political unrest and economic instability."

"You ruled Sound village for almost two years. Why stepped down? Why didn't you return here after Orochimaru's death?"

Sasuke inwardly sighed. Was that council member stupid? "If I return here, would I be able to go after Itachi if you are going to keep me here?" Although he didn't like to admit it, he had grown slightly attached to the Sound village and decided to do it a favor by rebuilding the village and revamping the ninjas' morale. Without Orochimaru's reign of terror, he found out that the Sound shinobis weren't as wicked as they acted. Everything was done under Orochimaru's orders. And as for those who were stupid enough to challenge his leadership, which weren't that many, he dealt them accordingly. "The reason I stepped down is because I never had plans to stay long as an Otokage. In fact, I expected myself to die during my fight with Itachi or with Madara."

"What did you do after finally avenging your clan? How come you only came here now?"

Another idiot. "I mentioned that after the battle, I was hovering over life and death. I spent three months in bed unconscious and another two, recuperating. The rest of the months before my arrival, were spent discussing about the offer with Hanzaki of Fuuma Clan."

"Don't the Sound Ninjas and the citizens mind such offer?"

"Citizens don't mind as long as their normal lives aren't interrupted and businesses flourish. As for the ninjas, they don't mind as long as they serve their purpose and their village"

"How did Hanzaki of the Fuuma Clan gets to be chosen?"

"He is the only person competent enough."

Sasuke could feel that they are convinced but he knew they need to discuss this further. He hoped Hanzaki's endurance and patience were high. Besides, despite their inquiries, he knew they couldn't pass this chance to look over a village which was feared. He conveniently forgot to tell them that the main reason why the Sound Ninjas would be loyal to Konoha was because he was loyal to Konoha. As long as he swore his allegiance to the Konoha then the Sound Ninjas would be loyal to the village.

There were whispers and murmurs passed from one elder to another and back before one man, squared his shoulders and stared down at him from his high seat. "Uchiha Sasuke, you are dismissed. You will be summoned again when the council had made their decisions. Until then, you are ordered to stay in the same room you are staying with maximum security and tight visiting schedule." With a slight wave of that man's frail hand, two ANBU guards appeared by his side and led him back to his room.

**-SasuNaru is love-**

Naruto carelessly tossed his ANBU mask on his dresser as he entered his bedroom and threw himself on his bed. What Neji said to him had been echoing on his head and now that he felt himself relaxing, questions flooded his mind. _Why is he here? Why now? What does he need? What would be the council's decision? _

Fear of seeing Uchiha again slowly crept into his heart. He was afraid that he might destroy the life he had forced himself to get used to - a life without his former best friend. Worse, he was afraid that he might kill the bastard out of anger and hatred. That or he would beat him up before he would embrace and welcome him home. When he thought of that, his heart slammed against his chest. He shook his head. No, he won't let himself get hurt again. Once, he almost threw his life for him but now, he won't. He even won't let that bastard upset his life now. And as much as possible, he had to avoid the Uchiha heir.

With thoughts concerning one dark-haired traitor, he settled in a slumber and after almost two years, he found his dreams once more haunted by cold hands, arrogant smirk and mocking dark eyes.

_Dobe, come to me._

**-SasuNaru is love-**

Naruto was awakened by delicious aroma teasing his very sensitive nose. Stifling a yawn, he stumbled from his bed and into his kitchen where he found Hinata cooking.

"Hinata," he called out sleepily.

"Naruto-kun, welcome home," she greeted and blushed when Naruto placed his head on her shoulder.

"Smells good."

"Give me thirty minutes and lunch will be ready."

"Might as well take a bath then." Before he left, he nuzzled his girlfriend's neck and inhaled Hinata's scent. There was just something about her scent that calmed him and made him glad to be alive after every difficult mission.

She gently pat his head, and laughed when she heard a poorly smothered moan. "You sounded like a pet," she said and her lips curled into a small smile when his chuckles echoed throughout the apartment's small hallway.

Throughout their lunch, Naruto noticed that Hinata was more silent than usual and was even trying to avoid looking at him. One moment, she would open her mouth to speak something then shook her head. It baffled him and after making sure that he didn't do anything to upset her, he decided to confront her. After tossing the dish towel, he pulled her into his arms so suddenly that the girl stumbled towards him.

"Hinata, is there something bothering you?" He stated more than asked.

The Hyuuga heiress leaned her head against his chest and shook her head. She felt calloused fingers lifting her chin so her eyes would meet cornflower blue orbs.

"Hinata, we never have keep secrets from each other before so don't start now."

She desperately tried to look away but the hold on her chin was gentle but firm. She knew she was worrying over nothing but the news of Uchiha's presence had made her worry. It was no secret between the two of them that Naruto was in love with his dark-haired teammate but that was before, but first love usually never dies, right?

"Well..." she paused wondering if it was worth the trouble. She was slightly afraid that Naruto would get mad if she would bring it up.

"Hinata.."

"I heard that _he's_ back." He need not asked who she was referring to. "I was wondering, now that he is back-"

She never managed to complete her sentence as his lips covered her own. She kissed him back with all the doubts that had started bothering her.

Staring into her eyes, he fiercely said "I know what it felt like to be thrown away so I will never make you feel like that. I love you so I am not going to leave you for him. That's a promise, understand?"

The girl nodded and smiled before they started kissing again.

_But do you still love him?_ That was what she wanted to ask him, but not now. Perhaps, one day when his kisses had lost their magic on her senses.

That night, Kakashi dropped by Naruto's apartment by jumping down into his balcony where the blonde usually relaxed before he would go to bed.

"You surely have made that into habit now," the younger shinobi stated in exasperation. He sighed when Kakashi just gave him that irritating smile of his.

"You weren't there," the older man stated.

He looked at him, "Were you there?"

"It was a closed-door meeting. That's why, unlike you, someone like me can't just attend it," the silver-haired man replied with no hint of irritation in his tone. "You should have been there."

"Sasuke's trial isn't important to me." Naruto looked away when his former teacher was giving that look that always made the former fidget.

"Sasuke's trial is important but not on a personal level, Naruto. You're going to be a hokage and it is one of your responsibilities to be aware of events."

The blonde snorted and rolled his eyes. "You have more chances of becoming a hokage than me."

Kakashi leaned against the balcony railing and said, "If they want someone who will spend the rest of his working hours reading books."

His former teacher was a pervert, indifferent, frivolous and lazy man. Naruto knew that, but there was also a side of his teacher that he had seen and gotten to know well during those times they had become teammates in missions and he knew, he would make a good Hokage. "I know you, Kakashi-sensei. When situation calls for it, you will rise up and meet everyone's expectations and more."

This time it was the older man who snorted. "Are we talking about me here?" He then turned to look at his former loud student. "You had surpassed me, Naruto and the council should take that into consideration."

A comfortable silence settled between men and continued to stretch to more than eight minutes before Kakashi slapped his hands on the ledge. "You're very good in diverting the topic." He chuckled when Naruto glared at him. "Rumor has it that the council will have their decision two days from now."

Naruto shrugged. "Then I'll know in the same manner that everyone will."

Kakashi mentally sighed. Things had certainly changed now and the changes were on both sides. Team seven had never had a good start to begin with, but a lot of times, things were good and would have been better if Sasuke hadn't left. Ah Were had the good days gone to? He patted Naruto's back and disappeared, leaving the blonde alone with his thoughts again.

**-SasuNaru is love-**

Naruto rolled over his bed, once... twice, as he tried to suffocate that tiny voice in his head that whispered nonsensical things which in his sleepy state, he couldn't understand. He punched his already soft pillow, trying to get it to be more comfortable. He buried his face against it and scratched his stomach, just so whatever unpleasant feeling that was bubbling within him would stop. What was wrong with him? Why was he so uncomfortable? So restless? He rolled out from his bed and finally, let himself fall to the floor. Ouch. That had hurt but he felt a tiny bit better. He stood up and his eyes accidentally fell on the calendar.

_Rumor has it that the council will have their decision two days from now._

_Today_, his mind whispered, _is the day_. For a reason, his stomach suddenly accommodated butterflies... big and restless butterflies. Dammit! Why should he get worried over something such as-

_Because it is important._

"But not on a personal level," Naruto muttered as he marched into his bathroom.

"NOT ON A PERSONAL LEVEL!"

**-SasuNaru is love-**

Sasuke stood erect and unmoving as he listened to the official recount of his appearance in the previous meeting and when asked if he had any objection to any writings in the report, he just shook his head. He watched as the head councilor stood up from his seat and moved to stand behind the podium. He mentally scowled when the man looked at him with something akin to annoyance and contempt.

"Punishment for defection is life imprisonment," the man started and his announcement without preamble, caused a stiffed and tensed silence to blanket the whole place. "However, the council had taken into consideration that one: during your stay in Sound of which at anytime, information about Konoha can be given by or forced from you, there had been no attack from Orochimaru and thereby, a positive conclusion was drawn from this. Two: You had eliminated not two but three S-class rogue ninjas who were great threats to Konoha and although Madara Uchiha had been assumed dead until Akatsuki's true goal had been revealed. With these two points, you, Uchiha Sasuke, are granted the citizenship in Konoha. As such, you are expected to obey the following rules and conditions..."

Sasuke fingers slightly twitched, but he had expected that there would be conditions, but he hoped none of those conditions required him to find a suitable girl to marry and produce little Uchihas.

"One: You will not remove yourself from the view of the ANBU guards assigned from you. Two: You will allow yourself to be guarded and guided by two special guards picked from the best. Three: Your shinobi status will picked off during the time you had defected and as such, as a genin, you will execute genin missions a week from now and with no payment until you become chuunin." The man was irritated to see that the last Uchiha maintained his stoic composure, despite what he was reading. Was there no end to this man's arrogance? "Four: You are allowed to take the chuunin's exam next year with only one chance. Five: You will take residence at Hatake's place until further notice. If you don't have any questions, you are dismissed."

When the reading was over, there were murmurs and all councilors watched while Sasuke was flanked by two ANBU guards who would take him to his new residence. When the last Uchiha was out from the room, the head councilor snarled, "We should have given him three months of prison and two months of house arrest."

"And have him produce little Uchihas," a woman elder added. She was one of the few councilors who believed that Konoha's glory would rise further with the Uchiha clan around.

"And what would those conditions accomplished? You'll only provoke contempt from the boy and don't forget that he may have the power to bring Konoha to ruins," another elder added. He looked at the quiet Tsunade with his icy gaze and said, "Make sure the guards assigned to him know him best. The council will leave the selection to you."

The Hokage nodded and excused herself.

**-SasuNaru is love-**

"Naruto," Tsunade said from behind her table and just that tone alone, told him that he would never like the next words his superior would utter. The restlessness in his stomach intensified because he knew that this was about the Uchiha. 'Execution' and 'Life imprisonment' were the words he expected and didn't want to hear.

_Don't let it be_, he unconsciously prayed.

"Uchiha Sasuke is reinstated as Konoha genin." At that announcement, all restlessness in him ceased and he silently let out a long breath. "He's staying at Hatake's residence and is under surveillance by ANBU guards 24/7. However, the council wants two shinobi who will stay close to him... two shinobi who knows him best." Naruto continued staring at her, as if he didn't understand what she was implying. Obviously, the boy was waiting for her to spell it out for him in big and bright colors. "You're one of his guards."

Naruto's stomach became once more an abyss of wretched emotions. He shook his head, "You said 'knows him best'... I only knew him or to be exact," and his tone became bitter, "knew the lie he webbed for me." He flinched when Tsunade slammed her left palm on the table.

"This is a mission, Naruto, not some personal matter!" she snapped. He couldn't continue running away. What he needed now was a closure, but would it be enough? She didn't know, but he could start with closure.

She regretted her choice of words and tone when the blonde's face turned cool and impersonal... completely devoid of emotions. "If you have no need of me then, let me take my leave."

"Naruto, I-"

"Good day, Hokage-sama." Soundlessly, Naruto disappeared and Tsunade sighed.

**-SasuNaru is love-**

Just as quietly as he left the hokage's office, Naruto appeared in front of Hatake's front door and knocked.

Kakashi perked at that knocking sound and gave a smile to Sasuke who was still obviously grappling with the truth that his former teacher and Iruka were living together as a couple in the latter's apartment. While the older man answered the door, he slowly gathered his composure. Kakashi and Iruka.

The news had been shocking and it wasn't because Kakashi was a pervert and Iruka was conservative. It was shocking because as far as he could remember, these two didn't interact much except that time when the conservative chuunin was against the idea of Team Seven taking the chuunin exam. That was it and the interaction wasn't exactly friendly.

"Sa-su-ke," Kakashi called out melodiously when he went back to join him. Sasuke frowned when he saw the man's mischievous look. "What now?" he hissed.

"Your other guard is here," he beamed.

Obsidian eyes widened when he immediately recognized the man who would be his guard. _Naruto_! And he was suddenly hot and cold and very, very tensed because he expected the blonde to attack him.

However, contrary to his expectation, a coolly detached Naruto just stood beside Kakashi, looking at him haughtily, causing him to be confused. _What's going on?_ He stared at the blonde and it was only then did he register the changes on his friend.

Naruto... Naruto had changed. A lot. He looked mature, slightly jaded and felt different because... Sasuke almost seemed to choke when he noticed that he couldn't feel his friend's chakra. He could sense Kakashi's chakra but not Naruto's and even if the latter had masked it, he should have felt a trickle of it. He swallowed back that unreasonable panic that rose up within in and checked his urge to fall into his friend's arms to whisper how he missed him; how sorry he was and how things would be right between them because he was here now.

"We're your guards," Kakashi stated. "All those ANBU guards you are sensing now will answer to us. If you need anything, tell us and we'll relay it to Tsunade-sama." He turned to Naruto, "Thanks for coming. Sasuke will spend this day cleaning and getting himself comfortable here so your services aren't needed until tomorrow."

Naruto wasn't stupid. He knew Kakashi knew he was shaken to meet Sasuke again and the man was giving him a chance to get his bearings back and set his mind for this task. He threw his former sensei a discrete look, gave a polite nod to their ward's general direction and disappeared.

"I'd say," Kakashi started with that infuriating voice of his, "that your meeting with Naruto went better than I expected."

"Better?" Sasuke echoed. "That cold meeting? He wasn't acting like himself." He frowned when the older man wagged his pointer finger. "Sasuke, that is the new Naruto. He had changed and it is exactly not for the best."

"Stop joking around!" He wasn't ready to accept yet. Sure, he had expected Naruto to change but not like this. Never like this. It was like... Oh, God! What would be the best way to reach out to a man who acted like he never knew him?

"I'm not and you'll know that when you'll spend the day with him."

Sasuke didn't miss that certain sadness from the older man's voice and suddenly, a part of him didn't want for Naruto to come for him tomorrow. He wasn't ready to meet him, especially this new side of him.

**-SasuNaru is love-**

Naruto harshly brushed away his hair strands that were covering his eyes as he stared at his village through the Third Hokage's left eye. He was in the Hokage mountain, inside the third hokage's head which he made it into his haven when things would overwhelm him and today, his meeting with Sasuke had overwhelmed him in more ways than one.

How many times had he imagined or dreamed meeting him again in different situations? How many times had he thought and rehearsed what to say? What to do? However, whatever plans and words he memorized and set aside for that meeting were swallowed by the flood of memories. Painful memories, bitter-sweet memories, actions of betrayal and words spoken in hate. Naruto remembered a reality which he later found out to be a lie... Sasuke's lie.

_Sasuke... Sasuke... Sasuke..._

Sasuke was twice as arrogant as when he had seen him the last time. He had become very powerful just as he had hoped when he abandoned the village. Naruto could sense and taste the powerful aura emanating from the man. _Very tempting._ A part of him that was strongly influenced by the traits he inherited from Kyuubi, thought that his former friend would be a fitting rival for someone like him. Sasuke would put up a good fight enough for him to take joy from it. That part was stirring, aching for a very good fight.

_Sasuke... Sasuke..._

Sasuke had changed and grown up to be more dashing than any Uchihas he had seen, an aesthetic side of him thought. Long hair that looked like silk under the light, a body made to last in battles and eyes that were hauntingly breathtaking. He was beautiful... too perfect to be real. He was a fake... no, he was one big lie. He was nothing but a walking hatred, revenge and darkness. That was all he was and would ever be and yet...

_Sasuke..._

Naruto hated him and he made sure that that traitor would understand this passion of his.

_Go away._

**-SasuNaru is love-**

Despite Sasuke's silent pleas, tomorrow came and brought Naruto to his front door. There was no morning greeting, in fact, the blonde just gave him a cool look then turned around, obviously expecting him to follow. Annoyance rose up within the dark-haired returnee who followed the blonde while glaring at his back.

_What's with that fucking attitude?_

The two walked along the less busy street of the village while Naruto took Sasuke to a stroll. Strolling wasn't his idea but Kakashi's and supported by Tsunade. Both believed that Sasuke and the other villagers needed a good exposure to and reacquaint each other, now that the last Uchiha became Konoha's citizen again. Of course, there was a probability of villagers being attacked by him or villagers provoking him to do something and these risks were overlooked by the Godaime who told Naruto that his main purpose was to make sure nothing bad would happen to both sides.

Naruto walked a step ahead of Sasuke to make way for the latter. The former didn't talk or make comments of the changes present in Konoha and the latter didn't bother to ask. Whatever changes he saw or noticed, he just distantly noted them. He saw villagers stopping from whatever they were doing to look at him - the last Uchiha... the wayward Uchiha... the traitor. He passed them by without a second glance, without any reaction. It didn't matter what the villagers' opinions were as long as he had accomplished what he had promised himself when he was still a boy. He ignored the pointer fingers aiming at him, the murmurs and the looks. He didn't need them to live.

Then suddenly, something like a gust of wind yet charged with chakra passed him by, making him gasp and his skin tingled. A second later, a crunching sound followed by soft 'plop' reached his ears and he saw rotten apples and tomatoes lying on the ground, crushed. And that force that was akin to a gust of wind he felt was receding... going forward... moving towards Naruto and then it was gone without a trace. He blinked and stared at the blonde's back. He wasn't mistaken. That force was just plain chakra... Naruto's chakra yet at the same time wasn't his. His chakra composition wasn't like this before yet it was slightly familiar to him - the edge, rawness and sharpness.

For the second time since he came back, he found himself totally out of loop. He shook his head when blurriness tainted the edges of his vision. What was wrong with him? The next thing he knew, Naruto was standing in front of him, looking at him with his pretty eyes. Finally, the blonde opened his mouth and asked, "Are you okay, Uchiha?"

Although he looked unconcerned, Naruto was inwardly worried. Worrying for his ward was one of his long-time habits that he couldn't break. He looked at Sasuke who, he knew, was feeling the effects of his chakra. He mentally scolded himself for releasing that intensely charged chakra, but it was purely out of reflex. He felt the rotten fruits coming... felt the distortion of the space the second they left the hands of the instigators who were aiming at Sasuke. At **his** ward. Then before he knew it, he had put more power then he usually should have.

"I'm sorry," he added, feeling bad. "My chakra-"

"I'm not fucking weak!" Sasuke snapped, taking his guardian by surprise. "I don't need your protection for something as small as that." Because his pride had been wounded, he didn't give a damn when blue eyes turned cold, glinting.

"You probably do not need it but you are placed under **my** ward and I am only doing my job," the blonde stated icily. Their eyes clashed and he whirled around to continue walking.

Sasuke cursed and followed him. God! The distance between him and Naruto was farther than he had ever dreamed and he wondered if there would come time when he would be able to cross that distance and meet him halfway.

_Don't wander so far from me. I can only run so far._

Few more minutes; few turns and Sasuke found himself in a small bistro.

"You must be hungry," Naruto told him before he walked in, expecting Sasuke to follow him. The latter scowled. One day, he swore, he would not continue this arrangement but not now, because he was starving and the delicious coming from the place was too tantalizing for him to think of teaching the blonde a lesson. He walked inside and immediately stiffened seeing a mop of familiar brown hair.

_Kiba_.

It was no option for him to avoid them, not when Naruto was standing by their table, currently engaging in a talk with Kiba and his companions - Chouji, Lee, Shino, Shikamaru and Neji. He scowled, thinking that Naruto had done this on purpose. He was about to walk to the other side when Kiba's voice echoed throughout the small place.

"If it isn't but the Uchiha," Kiba mocked. He stood up and bowed, hatred written all over his face. Sasuke tensed and his pride demanded him to walk over to their table and he did. When he got there, all the males were giving him a sharp glare. Everybody seemed to hate him, especially Naruto's friends. However, Sasuke was wrong.

Naruto's friends especially their academy batch mates didn't hate Sasuke. They loathed him for the simple reason that not only did he betray and hurt Naruto but had completely broken the blonde. If there was one good thing that came from the his abandonment, it was the tight-knit camaraderie between the blonde and the other males.

Naruto chuckled as he tried to placate his friends, "Okay guys, cool off. I didn't hear anyone declaring that there is a glaring contest in here." That didn't work. In fact it only aggravated the situation and he could feel that any second now, a fight would definitely break out. "Guys, stop it. Don't do that while he is under my care. Failing this simple mission will definitely ruin my reputation. Please." The last word reached his friends who immediately relaxed.

He beamed, "Now that's better." He had just inwardly sighed in relief when the next thing he knew sands were floating in the air while Sasuke was tightly pinned against the wall. He owlishly stared at the struggling man before it registered to him that the one who was struggling and probably was going to be killed was his own ward. Damn! He rushed forward, elbowing his way through the scared customers hurriedly leaving the place.

Sasuke's lungs burned, informing their owner how much they needed oxygen. He struggled. Although advised not to use any technique, he could no longer heed to that, after all, it was his life that was being threatened here and perhaps, his guard would be more than happy to be rid of him. His hands left the sand and was making the seals for Chidori when Naruto, with just one punch, shattered his prison. Air flooded his lungs too fast that he gasped and coughed.

Naruto looked at Sasuke who slid to the floor, clutching his throat while taking big gulps of air before he looked at the approaching Gaara. He situated himself in front of his ward. "Gaara," he warned.

"Move, Naruto," Gaara growled, the killing intent obvious in his eyes. Each grain of sand was rising in the air, responding to their wielder's silent command. From afar, the rest of Naruto's friends didn't make any move to stop him. Their silence could be taken as an approval of the kazekage's attack.

Naruto squared his shoulders. "You have to go through me to kill him."

"Protecting that bastard again? How many times do you have to risk your life for that trash?" The redhead's voice was now dripping with displeasure.

Sasuke clenched his fists. Nobody got away from insulting him.

"Don't do anything, Uchiha" Naruto hissed as he spared him a glance over his shoulder before looking at his red-haired friend. "Gaara, I am honor-bound to protect another Konoha inhabitant. I'm sure you would do the same to any Sand villager, no?"

"Yes, I'd do the same, but I will definitely kill a traitor," he answered then cut off his blond friend's protest when he continued, "I won't harm him."

Naruto didn't relax until all sand grains returned to Gaara's gourd. He rewarded his friend with a grin while sparing the others a half-hearted glare for not helping him. In return, they either smiled sheepishly or looked away.

When everything was settled, Lee pulled a chair for Naruto indicating for him to join them. Sasuke would have remained standing or getting his own chair if not for Chouji who was kind enough to follow Lee's action. Gaara chose to sit beside Neji.

"We were supposed to eat at a separate table considering…"

"Don't worry, Naruto. We won't do anything to fail your mission." Shino assured.

As they ate their lunch, Sasuke spent more time observing his former best friend than eating. He was glad to find out that Naruto hadn't completely changed. He was still the life of any gathering – he matched Lee's passion for youth and life; traded barbs and insults with Kiba; shared Chouji's appreciation for food; tired Shikamaru out with his cheerfulness and drew Shino, Neji and Gaara from their stoic personality with his whines.

Painfully, he realized that everybody except him had a part of his sun who had forgotten to shine on him. Or in his hopeful opinion, his share of the sunlight no longer reached the place he had abandoned years ago. Either way, he was still in the darkness and would be until those blue eyes and blinding smile would be focus on him in a familiar manner.

He also realized that there something about the way these guys treated the blonde. Not just on the way Shika offered to pay for his lunch or the way Kiba insisted to order seconds for him or Chouji placing food on his plate or the way they discretely watch him eat. Such treatment was more than just tolerating him, which most of them did during their genin days, it was almost, dared he say, maternal protectiveness shown only towards frail or sickly child.

_What is going on?_ he thought. He looked up when he heard footsteps getting closer to their table and saw a smiling Hinata.

The Hyuuga heiress, although having the beauty and twice the grace and sophistication of females in her age, still carried the frailty and innocence of a child. However, there was now confidence in the way she carried herself around enough for her to converse with people without blushing, stuttering and twiddling her pointer fingers.

"Ah The boys' Wednesday lunch get together, eh?" She teased and spared an impersonal glance at Sasuke. She was surprised to find him sitting with the others, unhurt but didn't show it on her face. Instead, she redirected her gaze to the blonde who smiled back at her. Kiba coughed teasingly.

"Spit the phlegm out, Kiba," Naruto said, causing few guys to chuckle.

"I'm here to order some take-out for Sakura, Shizune-san and myself," she answered Naruto's silent inquiry. "I better get going now. I don't want them to starve."

"I'll see you tonight then at my apartment," Naruto said before she turned to leave. Sasuke's heart twitched funnily. There was something in that statement that made his stomach lurched.

Kiba immediately covered Lee's mouth before he'd start commenting about youthful love, while the others except for Neji, Gaara and Shikamaru had a leer on their faces as they looked at a blushing Naruto. "Get your minds out the gutter, guys!" He said defensively.

They were too busy teasing Naruto that only Neji saw an emotion that flickered on those empty dark eyes and he smirked sadistically.

Sasuke stared at his food. _Naruto and Hinata… Hinata and Naruto…together_. He mentally repeated the name of the couple over and over again trying to check its compatibility and found that he disliked the pairing very, very much. He knew he was jealous and he wasn't pleased to admit such fact. So displeased was he, that he tuned out the on-going conversation at the same time ate his lunch which now tasted like those supplementary meals Orochimaru ordered Kabuto to make for him for the first few months. Unable to bear the taste, he excused himself to the restroom.

Sasuke stared at his reflection in the mirror before he turned the faucet off and dried his hands. He was about to leave when two shinobis- a middle-class chuunin and an elite jounin- came inside. They recognized him immediately.

"Fancy meeting you here, Uchiha," the jounin greeted with a fake smile while sarcasm dripped from his voice when he mentioned the family name of one of Konoha's noble family.

"Shouldn't a traitor be in a prison?" the chuunin added.

Sasuke, who was certain that these guys knew of his probation and was trying to provoke him in attacking them, ignored their poor taunts and walked passed them.

"Will you give us the pleasure of showing us what you had gained from Sound, Sasuke-sama?"

The jounin snickered and then regarded his friend, "Nah, probably not, Mori. The last Uchiha is a coward, always has been."

That comment stopped him. He could never let anyone who insulted him get away. He whipped around, regarding the weak ninjas with a scowl. If they wanted to have a taste of his power then who was he to deny what these idiots wanted?

A gleeful look graced their face as they could feel the raw anger emanating from the lad in front of them. This was it and the traitor would finally be banished from the village forever. They could see themselves secretly being congratulated and thanked by their comrades.

Before Sasuke could take one step towards them, he saw horror replacing the smiles he wanted to erase from their faces. He smirked, pleased that these bastards finally realized the power he now had at his disposal, but such pleasure was short-lived as he realized that the two ninjas, who were almost frozen on their spot, were not staring at him but behind him. And a voice, in a dangerous tone that was perfectly wrapped in friendliness, spoke.

"Oh, it's just you, Mori and Fujita."

Sasuke looked over his shoulder and saw his smiling guardian leisurely leaning against the closed door. Although he didn't like the idea that it wasn't him who scared the shit out of these two idiots, he still got the joy of seeing them scared. Served them right.

"Naruto-san, I'm surprised to see you here," Fujita, the jounin, greeted him in nervous sheepishness while his companion was smiling guiltily.

"I am just here to see what took my ward," at this he meaningfully tilted his head to Sasuke's general direction, "so long."

"W-w-ward?" Mito pathetically echoed.

"Yes. Kakashi-sensei and I are his bodyguards," he informed calmly but they weren't stupid enough not to take it as a warning then looking at the Uchiha, he said, "Let's go."

Sasuke nodded and wordlessly followed the blonde out. This time, Naruto just waved at his friends before leaving with him so they could resume their stroll.

Sasuke stopped in his step as he stared at the place where the old academy once stood. The new academy was bigger and even from the outside, looked homely. It looked twice as conducive for learning as before. He couldn't understand the slight sadness that gripped him, as he thought that all his nice memories had been gone together with those what used to make up the old academy. Perhaps of all the places in the village, the academy was the only place that meant special to him and maybe, just maybe, it was because this was where he had meet Naruto.

"It had changed," Sasuke commented almost to himself.

"It got renovated two years ago," Naruto voluntarily informed him. "A lot of things had changed." _Since you are gone_, he added quietly.

The former Sound-nin looked at him meaningfully, "More than I expected, apparently."

Naruto looked at him and their gazes met. Both of them could feel it- the tension that crackled between them and the swirl of unasked question and unsaid answers. There were so many things to talk but both of them realized that, at that moment, they were nothing but strangers; nothing but a guardian and a ward. Despite that, Sasuke ached to reach out to his precious person who was still denying to himself that he didn't want to embrace his missing friend.

"Naruto." It was the softest whisper, like the gentle voice of the wind and Naruto resumed his walk, ignoring the ripples that whisper had caused in him.

**TBC**

* * *


	3. Arousal of desire

**Disclaimer: It's obviously not mine.**

**Warning: Aside from being yaoi, SasuNaru and OOC? Well... it's unbeta-read.**

**Enjoy, people!**

* * *

Naruto none too gently banged his head against the wall he was sitting against as he tried to held sleepiness at bay. He could name two reasons why he was sleepy on his duty time - Sasuke and lack of sleep caused by... oh well... Sasuke. He stifled his yawn and tried to stop his heavy eyelids from closing longer than they should.

Unable to ignore the dryness of his throat, Sasuke finally decided to go to the kitchen to satisfy his thirst in the middle of the night. He slipped out from his bed and with natural quietness, walked outside his room. Opposite to his door, he saw a sitting Naruto, asleep. He stood by his doorway and did what he wanted to do without being discreet- he stared at him and while doing so, sadness and longing darkened his eyes and tightened his chest. He looked at him at his heart's full content. He took in his soft breathing, the slight opening of his mouth and those dark scars on his face. His heart became heavy, knowing he had lost this person that meant so much to him... so much that it was beyond his understanding.

He missed him. Dearly.

Sasuke tore his gaze from that face and went back to his room to get another set of blanket which seconds later, he slowly draped over Naruto.

The sudden brushed of fabric, alerted Naruto and snapped his mind from the lull in activities. Because he had just fallen asleep, it was his instincts that kicked start first rather than his logic and his instincts immediately told him that he was in danger; that someone was in his personal bubble. He became a quick flurry of limbs and the next thing Sasuke knew, he was lying on the ground, pinned by Naruto's body and his hands were bound by the blanket and were held above his head. Worse, he felt the sharp edge of a kunai pressed against his throat. He looked above him and saw Naruto's eyes glinting with red before it reverted back to its icy blue as they regarded him.

**Chapter 2: Arousal of Desire**

"What the fuck were you doing?" Naruto growled, his puffs of breath upsetting Sasuke's bangs.

"Draping a blanket on you," Sasuke replied with irritation in his voice. He watched in satisfaction when embarrassment flashed through that angry face. Contrary to his expectation, Naruto didn't pull away from him.

It seemed that the blonde was comfortable in slightly lying on top of him and Sasuke wasn't about to complain. He could feel Naruto; he could feel his warmth seeping through his clothes, his skin and flowed through his body. He could smell his scent which reminded him of a scent that hovered above a meadow before daybreak during summer days and wondered if an earth sprite could ever smell like this. So addicting.

Naruto witnessed the expansion of Sasuke's eyes telling him that something got Sasuke excited. Was it the knowledge that a short while ago he had been overpowered? Was it the fact that a kunai was pressed against his throat in a threatening manner? He blithely silenced that voice inside his head telling him that it was their position and closeness that got the man excited. While that statement was true on his part (he couldn't deny this), it would never be true in Sasuke's case. And just in case, that annoying little voice was telling the truth, it wasn't on a romantic basis. Would never be. To Sasuke, he was just a danger as long as he held a kunai against him.

Beneath heavy lidded eyes, he stared at Sasuke. The latter looked so vulnerable

at the way he stared at him with hunger which he mistook as open curiosity.

_Dearest Sasuke._

Naruto, Sasuke observed, looked less wary, almost friendly for the first time since he came home. Gathering courage and risking this moment to vanish like a vapor, he swallowed and brought up the matter which he was certain the blonde didn't want him to tackle. Ever.

"When?"

Naruto looked at him in silent inquiry.

"When did you and Hinata become a couple?"

"Seven months ago."

"Why?" Sasuke continued.

The blonde answered simply and with a sincerity that caused pain to flicker on Sasuke's eyes like dying embers on a dark night. "I like her."

"Naruto," Sasuke murmured while he laid a hand on Naruto's left shoulder and slid it downward until he reached his elbow. "I-" But the blonde had pulled away from him and was giving him a heated glare.

"Hinata... that's who you're after."

Sasuke gaped at him and momentarily too surprised to give any reaction. His lack of reaction made the other man think that his statement was true.

Naruto's clenched his fists. Why was Sasuke always hurting him? Always threatening to take something that meant so much to him? "But she isn't qualified to be an Uchiha. You can't have her, asshole!" With that said eloquently, he stormed off. Besides, his shift ended a minute ago.

It took a minute for Sasuke to register Naruto's words and when they did he was torn whether to strangle the man or show him how wrong he was. Unable to decide which, he laughed, out of irritation and amusement at his foolishness.

Naruto was still a fool. A dobe. An usoratonkachi.

_Let me tell you a secret, you're who I'm after._

**-SasuNaru is love-**

Sakura's rest day found her leaning against the left railing of the bridge where the now defunct Team 7 used to meet before Sasuke left. After that, with the three of them silently running away from the memories, their meeting point was moved to Ichiraku. That was until Sasuke's return. She had tried asking her former teacher why, when he went to her house last night to inform her of this little outing, as he called it, but her question was ignored with blithe indifference. The man just reminded her to be at the meeting place by seven before disappearing as quietly as he had come. However knowing the man's infamous punctuality, she reached the bridge quarter to nine and start waiting for others.

"Sakura-chan, good morning!" her blond friend greeted with a blinding smile pasted on his face as he appeared beside her.

"Good morning too," she chirped back before she regarded him seriously for her SOP Naruto-check. "So what have you eaten for breakfast, assuming you had?"

The glint of her eyes made him gulped. He did eat breakfast but as to what he had eaten, well… he could lie about it but the aura his friend was emanating was too dangerous. His gut told him that he would be killed if he would lie and she knew whenever he did.

"Ramen," he finally answered and used his fox charms, hoping that this time it would placate the pink-haired kunoichi. Unfortunately, it didn't and he found himself sporting two huge lumps in his head seconds later.

"Naruto! What did we tell you?" At this point, Naruto mimicked Sakura as she continued, "breakfast is the most important meal of the day!" She hit him again when she saw what he was doing. "You better eat properly during our lunch break. Am I clear?"

The poor blonde gulped and nodded just as Kakashi and Sasuke appeared in a whirl of leaves. At that exact moment, Naruto's attitude changed and he immediately sent Sasuke a cold glare, causing Kakashi and Sakura to looked at them curiously.

Sakura's eyes stayed longer on Sasuke while she took in the man's growth. This was the first time she saw him since his return and her heart seemed to swell with joy at the same time. shrunk with wariness and fear.

For a second, Sasuke thought the pink-haired kunoichi would jump on him but she just sent a soft smile towards his general direction. He was glad that her fangirl days were over and as a reward, acknowledged her with a small smile and a murmur, "Sakura."

"So what's up, Kakashi-sensei? Hurry up because I have training with ero-sennin by 9:30," Naruto asked impatiently.

"Oh. He told me that your training for today is postponed."

"WHAT?"

"Hokage-sama sent him to an important mission."

That or researching on his new novel again, the blonde thought darkly. "Then, I'll train by myself."

"Wait, Naruto," Kakashi said, "I was thinking that since today is Sakura's and your rest day, it would be a good idea to work with Sasuke here on his genin tasks."

Both of them looked surprised. Sakura looked at Naruto, letting him decide for both of them. He was more appalled by the idea of working with one Uchiha than the news that would spread about him, an ANBU captain, doing mundane genin tasks and the mockery that would soon follow.

"Iruka prepared the list of tasks good for three."

Sakura grabbed the scroll from the grinning jounin and stared at the list that contained almost hundred tasks that range from households chores to public cleaning. Was Iruka-sensei kidding?

"Why so many? We probably can't finish this today."

"Now, don't be silly, Sakura. With the strength and speed you guys have, you'll finish this even before the sun sets." Kakashi doubted that, but he knew that his team were always bound to do impossible things and if they couldn't accomplished all tasks, Sasuke could do the rest the next few days. He mentally smiled at his brilliance.

_You guys_!? Sakura and Naruto repeated silently. It was now obvious that their former teacher wouldn't work with them - another reason why they should refuse.

"Let's do this for old time's sake," their former sensei said while emanating an aura that made refusal impossible.

**-SasuNaru is love-**

"Stop fidgeting, Sakura," Naruto said in an almost commanding voice when he could no longer ignore her restlessness. They were in this huge garden, weeding as ordered by its new owner. This was part of their genin tasks. Or to be exact, part of Sasuke's tasks.

"You're making me fidget with that killing aura of yours," she snapped back.

"Oh." Was the eloquent reply.

"So what did he do?" Sakura asked in a whisper. Naruto hesitated for awhile before saying in a conspiratorial voice, "He wants Hinata for his wife."

"What?" she asked loud enough to be heard by their other companions who looked at their way. She went back to her task but stayed close with Naruto. "When did he say it?"

"Early morning," he lied. Telling the truth would lead to questions he didn't want to answer.

"How did he say it?"

Naruto told her the questions Sasuke asked. She tilted her head in confusion. "On which part did he imply?"

Her blonde friend looked at her in confusion.

"I don't think his question implied he wants Hinata." She didn't miss Naruto throwing her an are-you-stupid look, but decided to let it slide... for now.

"What about those rumors spreading among jounins and ANBU about Sasuke

coming home to return his clan to glory? Who could help him but Hinata? After all the Uchiha roots can be traced back to Hyuuga. Plus, he did say that he would revive his clan during our first day as a team, remember?"

"Even if all the things you said are true, I still think he isn't implying anything."

"Then why did he ask those questions?"

Sakura quickly answered, "Because he's trying to cope up with things and he's starting with you."

Blue eyes widened slightly.

"That's what I think."

Naruto looked at the weed his right hand was gripping and pulled it before saying, "I don't think Sasuke did that for that reason. He's up to something."

Truthfully, Sakura didn't believe her explanation either, but that was the only reasonable thought she could come up with. Other than that, she couldn't see past the fog of vagueness where, she was certain, the correct explanation of Sasuke's action was. She was about to say something else when Kakashi's voice reached them. "There won't be lunch break for you two if you keep on gossiping."

"We aren't gossiping!" Both of them retorted at the same time before they went back to their respective tasks and this time, they didn't exchange any words until their current mission was over.

When it was over the new owner of the garden gave them a packed lunch, thus instead of eating at some eatery, they proceeded to the small park near the river they were going to clean later.

"I'm full already," Naruto announced when Sakura offered him another serving without paying attention to the vegetables Kakashi sporadically placed on his paper plate.

"Don't be silly, Naruto," the silver-haired jounin admonished him without taking his gaze away from that sinful orange book. "Your plate is still not empty."

"How can it be empty when both of you are filling it over and over again?"

Paying no heed to his whines, Sakura filled his plate again.

Years ago, in his commitment to bring Sasuke back, he had poured all his attention to getting stronger and studying jutsus that he often go on without food for days, causing his friends to make sure that he eat properly. Even when he had given up on Sasuke, his skipping of meals continued and so was his friends' pampering. In the end, giving this treatment to Naruto had become a habit of theirs just as self-destruction became one of the blonde's.

"Sakura-chan, I'm already full," Naruto repeated again.

"Shut up, Naruto. What you consumed is just a quarter of what you could eat in the old days."

Inwardly, Sasuke agreed with Sakura.

"You have to eat to grow," Kakashi stated in a fatherly-voice.

"Even if I eat everything you guys offered, I won't be as tall as boys in my age."

Sakura chuckled, "Except when-"

"That doesn't count," he interrupted quickly before he pouted so cutely that a smile wanted to break through Sasuke's cool mask.

After lunch they spent the rest of their break on their own way. Sasuke chose to perch on a branch directly opposite his other two teammates and sitting not far from his tree was Kakashi.

Not once did his eyes wander off from Sakura and Naruto. Except for Sakura's giggles and Naruto's chuckles, he couldn't hear what was being exchanged between the two. Once in awhile, he would see the pink-haired kunoichi blushing and her hand gestures were elaborate during these times. Even from his location, he could see how affectionate the blonde's facial expression was or the fondness she had towards him making him conclude that they were close. Strangely, that observation saddened him. He was out of the equation that was team seven. That much was very obvious to him. Even though he didn't regret his defection, that didn't mean he didn't thought of what it would be like if he didn't left.

He finally closed his eyes, preferring to listen rather than see. Seconds later, he felt himself slowly sinking and it didn't help the fact that he could hear Naruto chuckling. He could feel tendrils of force tugging at him, pulling him lower... deeper into his subconsciousness. He thought back of Naruto's warm breath fanning his face; of the strength of one tanned hand as it pinned his hands above and how wonderful it felt to have his lithe body pressed against his in an intimate but threatening manner.

_Naruto..._

He would have remained like that remembering and savoring if not for Kakashi's presence. He resurfaced from wherever he was and opened his eyes. "What?" he asked.

Kakashi was about to open his mouth to speak when Sakura's voice reached them. "Naruto and I are going ahead. Don't make us do all the work." Having said that, she went to catch up with the mentioned shinobi.

Sasuke looked at Kakashi who was stupidly grinning. "That meant lunch break is over."

"You don't have to spell it out for me." Sasuke stood up and Kakashi's left hand stopped him from jumping towards the ground. Their gazes met and the older man said, "Despite the rumors flying around, you're not here to reinstate your clan to its previous glory, much less for a bride. I think you're here for Naruto and for him alone." He didn't miss the slight tension of Sasuke's muscles beneath his hand. His eyes turned cold before he added in a warning, "If you end up breaking him once more, there are a lot of people who refuse to let you get away with it."

Slowly, Sasuke removed that hand from his shoulder and cockily, he asked. "Are you one of them?"

"Yeah."

"Then I will be extra careful."

There was mockery in the younger shinobi's tone and was purposely poorly hidden. Kakashi knew that but smiled rather than scold the younger male. Let the boy mocked him as many times as he wanted to but when he would hurt Naruto again, he won't hesitate to attack the younger man, even kill him. If that would happen, he won't regret it. He would chose Naruto from among everyone else because the boy was his teacher's and in a way, Sandaime's legacy.

"Stop gossiping, you two!" Naruto yelled at them in mild annoyance.

Kakashi chuckled. "Come, Sasuke, the sun is waiting."

Whether there was a hidden meaning behind that statement or not, Sasuke couldn't tell but realization had dawned on him. Since his return, he was standing on his abandoned and dark place waiting for the sun to make it bright for him once more but this was wrong, a mistake. The sun was already done chasing after him and was just waiting for him to come out from his self-induced darkness. However, coming out wasn't the only thing that was needed from him. He had hidden too long that the sun refused to recognized his existence anymore. He had to do something with that and he knew just how. He was certain that the old Naruto- the Naruto he killed in their last meeting during his nuke-nin days had been locked into a chest for protection. He had to find the key to that chest. No, that was wrong. He already had the key... he always had the key. The problem was, there was just too many chests and he didn't know if the one containing that Naruto was even there. However, he had to find that chest and free that Naruto. He had to. There was no margin for error or failure on his part.

With that decided, he picked a plastic bag and a wooden thong and with chakra padding the soles of his sandals, he walked on the surface of the river. He stole a sideward glance from Naruto and almost smiled. Naruto looked good under the rays of the sun and the way he stomped his legs into the ankle-deep water made him look childish, but when he started kicking water towards Sakura's direction, hoping to get her wet, a look of irritation crossed his face. Before he could stop himself, he said, "Stop playing around and do your share."

Naruto tensed for more than few seconds before he turned around, swinging one leg in the process. The low and strong kick caused water to fly towards his direction.

Sasuke mentally cursed when his face got damp. He wiped the water from his face and looked at his clothes which was now sporting dark wet stains. "What was that for?" he growled at the blonde who was marching towards him, water spraying from both of his sides, eyebrows drawn together in a dark scowl. There was nothing childish about the blonde anymore.

Then in a split second, Naruto's livid look was replaced by a surprised one when he lost his balance and was falling. Sasuke looked surprised too but his body was moving already to reach for his klutz of a teammate. He tugged Naruto but realized that the latter was lighter than he looked. He had overestimated and the blonde ended up crashing against him. The impact was painful enough for him to lose

whatever concentration he had on maintaining chakra on his feet. They were

falling... falling and the fall was too short for their mind to catch up what was happening and to readjust their bodies.

There was a big splash followed by silence which few seconds later were broken by Kakashi's soft chuckles and Sakura's melodious laughter. However, none of that had reached both males whose lips were firmly pressed against each other's.

Thigh against thigh, lips against lips, eye to eye... and the tension rose above between them, higher and higher.

Few seconds ticked by before Naruto managed to quickly jumped away from Sasuke and landed on the dry surface. He didn't look at Sakura, Kakashi and especially, at Sasuke. His heart was pounding too fast to hear anything until the familiar sharp cry of a hawk pierced through everything that clouded around him. He looked up and recognized the hawk as one of ANBU's messengers. He spared Kakashi a glance and disappeared soundlessly.

Kakashi sighed, obviously displeased that his other source of entertainment was gone. He looked at his other source who now had a very, very calm look on his face and who was ignoring the still grinning pink-haired kunoichi.

**-SasuNaru is love-**

It was already late in the evening that Naruto stumbled inside his apartment, mentally and emotionally tired, more from what happened with Sasuke rather than his ANBU platoon's meeting he had been summoned to. He let out a long sigh while running a hand through his hair. God! He couldn't remember the points of the meeting. He just sat there, listening to their platoon leader but his mind never registered any words. In his head, there was just his thoughts and different interpretation he had about the whole mistake. His hold on control was being threatened by the ripples that had gotten stronger since their second accidental kiss.

Their second kiss and like before, accidental. It wasn't supposed to hold any meaning because it was just an accident and yet... A scowl crossed his face when he realized that three of his fingers were softly pressed against his lips, trying to touch the lingering feeling of having Sasuke's lips pressed softly.

He shook his head, trying to get rid of the image of the suggestive position they found themselves in after the splash. Sasuke had landed on the soft ground, arms supporting most of his weight and legs parted. He, on the other hand, was above his former best friend, trapping the said friend's left thigh between his, his right arm planted near his pale left arm while his other hand was pressed against his chest, just above the man's heart.

Briefly, he thought that they presented a drool-worthy image and entertained the thought of asking Sakura for her opinion. He smack his own head. "Stop thinking like that!" he told himself and downed a glass of water in three gulps. "It was nothing but an accident, dammit!"

However, Naruto knew it was futile to dismiss it like it was nothing, not when he didn't miss the slight shiver of Sasuke's form or the increase speed of his heartbeat, or the way he looked at Naruto with his obsidian eyes dark and hypnotizing. Because his senses were amplified, he had been so easily overwhelmed and he immediately found himself pulled into something unknown by that dark gaze. He didn't miss how his right hand had clenched around the soft soil while he tried to keep his wits about him.

_Sasuke_.

When would Sasuke relinquish his hold over him? Naruto wondered. When would he be completely free from his demon?

**-SasuNaru is love-**

Someone... Someone was there in his room, staring at him openly, undressing him with his bold gaze.

That much Naruto knew and he forced his heavy lids to open and his heart leapt the moment he saw Sasuke. Wh-? He wasn't supposed to be here. He was guarded twenty-four hours by ANBU guards and accompanied by either him or Kakashi and tonight was his former sensei's shift. He sat up and drew his blanket closer to his body while his hand was secretly reaching out for his hidden kunai.

Naruto watched when Sasuke moved towards him in what he thought to be a predatory manner. The man planted his left knee on his bed and he reacted immediately and in a second, had his unwanted guest beneath him, kunai dangerously against his throat.

"Dobe, must you always be violent?" Sasuke whispered, indifferent to the danger that was Naruto.

"Why are you here?" the blonde demanded and pressed the kunai closer, creating a red line on pale skin in the process.

"To see you," Sasuke answered frankly and it caused the other man's heart to be faster. "I have to see you." Without lowering his guard, his eyes fell on Sasuke's lips. God! Did they have to look so tempting at that moment? Must he always be this sinful?

"Kakashi-sensei? The ANBU guards?" He did his best to look menacing even when a pale hand slowly wrapped around the wrist of his hand that held the kunai. His eyes almost fluttered at such skin contact. He wanted to pull away; to tell Sasuke 'no', to order him not to touch him, but he was being pulled by that gaze again.

Sasuke... Sasuke was slowly sapping his strength and resistance in a way known only by him.

"That lazy ninja let me trick him." He tightened his hold on tanned wrist, pulling Naruto closer to him, daring him to pull away; to deny whatever he wanted to deny.

"The ANBU guards?" Naruto repeated. He was getting distracted in an alarming rate. His scent, warmth and aura were surrounding him, cocooning him, disconnecting him from reason and logic.

"I wanted to see you and that meant I would do anything for that purpose." Sasuke could see fear and worry in those blue eyes and so he added, "I didn't kill them."

"I don't trust you."

"Then you should kill me now."

It wasn't a challenge but an order and Naruto knew Sasuke was serious when his hand slid to cover his and pushed the blade against his skin. The scent of blood wafted to his nostrils. Sasuke's blood. Sasuke's life.

He licked his lips, oblivious that he was being watched closely. With his hands slightly trembling, he looked at Sasuke... stared at him with eyes colored by different emotions. The other man must have seen his hesitation because suddenly his other hand shot out to grab his head and pulled him down for a kiss. Their third kiss and this time, it wasn't an accident and the blonde was lost.

Naruto slipped his hand from Sasuke's and flicked his wrist to throw the kunai away while he opened his mouth for a deeper kiss. He moaned especially when he felt his former best friend shivered beneath him. His hands found purchase on dark locks but didn't stay there. They were restless to touch, to assure that he was real... was with him at that very moment.

"Sasuke," he moaned between puffs of breath. "I don't want to stop. I can't stop."

Sasuke rolled them over, his body half-covering the other's. He tugged away the blanket between their bodies, "Then, don't," he whispered against his pulse. He pulled away to look at glazed blue eyes and his dark eyes were workings its magic on the blonde again. "It's just us, Naruto. Just you and me."

Naruto nodded and pulled the man for another mind-numbing kiss. Sasuke was right. It was just them. There was no Hi-... nobody else. "You burn me," he muttered mindlessly while he arched his neck, offering this part for his dark kisses and wicked lips. His hands continued their wake southward, massaging and teasing.

He chuckled when he felt Sasuke's erection. He didn't know why he was happy while he slid his hand beneath hiss pants but he was. "Good, yeah?" he asked when he heard him moan the moment his hand wrapped around his penis.

"You tell me," Sasuke told him and the next second, heat exploded within him when he felt a hand around his own erection. "Sasuke," he breathlessly whispered. It wasn't good. It was wonderful. Beyond words.

They looked at each other and as if, they came into some agreement, they bucked their hips at the same moment. "Yeah," Naruto heard Sasuke murmur against his ear and he couldn't help the smirk that graced his lips... the same smirk the dark-haired man smothered with his talented mouth.

Their tongues played with each other while their bodies strained, asking and demanding for more. The flame within and between them became a blaze, licking them, already threatening to consume them inside out.

Narurto's senses took in how Sasuke looked, felt, tasted and smelled. His body tensed more hearing the man above him whisper how much he wanted him... needed him. He rewarded such confession with his hand. God! Sasuke's pants and moans were music to his hear.

"Na-ruto... I-" The rest tumbled as moans when Naruto thumbed his slit, sending him over the edge and seeing like that, in the throes of the pleasure he created, sent Naruto over the edge and his eyes felt shut. He muttered Sasuke's name over and over again until the bliss subsided.

When Naruto opened his eyes, he saw his ceiling... only his ceiling and his heart that was still beating quickly dropped to his stomach. He didn't have to look around to know that it was just his dream. He felt disappointment before it was swallowed by annoyance and self-disgust. He threw an arm over his forehead as he let the buzzing in his ears disappear. Dammit! Another dream. Not just any dream but a fucking wet dream.

He jumped from his bed and flinched at the wetness of his pants. He looked at the clock on his bedside table and cursed more. It was still three in the morning. Just three hours of sleep. He marched toward his bathroom and got out from his clothes. On the way to his shower, his gaze fell on his reflection on the mirror. Unconsciously, his hand wrapped around his limp member and stared at his hand, sinfully imagining how it would look if that hand wasn't his but someone else's... someone who was Sasuke.

A moan slipped past his lips, ridding his mind of whatever cobwebs of his dream that had remained. He yanked his hand away. What was he doing? He had Hinata. He wanted Hinata and that was the end of the discussion, but was there one to begin with?

After his cold shower, Naruto sat at the edge of his bed which was now wrapped with clean sheets and covered by a clean blanket. He wondered how long he would be doing this; how long he had to sleep for just two to three hours only.

It had been four days since their accident and he still hadn't seen him, not that he was looking forward to see the man. However, a part of him was getting worried. A day after that incident, just before the sun rose, Naruto received a letter from the council and with Godaime's stamp informing him that Sasuke had been invited to the council's compound and as of that day would be staying there until all discussions were settled so his and Kakashi's services weren't needed. He didn't know what those discussions were and he couldn't just ask Tsunade about that without making the blond woman thought he cared about the dark-haired man so he didn't ask.

He slapped his hands on his knees and stood up, deciding to clean his apartment once more. When he was done, he proceeded to train, seeing that it was too early for breakfast and he didn't feel like eating yet. He went to the closest training ground. For almost a minute, he stood there, eyes closed while he held a mental picture of his body, telling his muscles that another day of training had began. He took a deep breath, then slowly... ever slowly he raised his hands while his left foot slid sidewards on the ground. In that very moment, his training had started. His movements were performed slowly but with fluidity as he aimed to improve his concentration on the task at hand and condition, as well as acquaint his body for the fast-paced movements that would soon follow.

When Naruto felt that his body had been stretched enough and now ready, he picked up speed and his movements started getting difficult. His speed kept on increasing until he was just a whirl of motor techniques. His movements were smooth, precise and sharp. His hands, whether opened or fisted, cut through the air. His quick performance of appropriate footwork caused dust to rise up slightly.

Naruto stopped, leaned backward and let himself fall towards the ground. And when his back was so close to kissing the Earth, his hands shot out to steady himself and he thrust his feet into the air. He did few sharp kicks then threw himself up into the air. While gravity tugged him back to the ground, he did a punch and kick combination. Right after he landed back, he continued moving, but this time, his pace was decreasing. He was now letting his body cool down and few minutes later, he was nothing but stillness again. He closed his eyes while letting air to enter and leave his body.

By the time he was done, the sun had completely shown itself, chasing away the coldness night had bring. Naruto settled under one tree and took few moments to rest, enjoying the soft sunlight and the gentle caress of the morning wind.

Upon returning home, Naruto showered. With breakfast in his mind, he exited from his bathroom, only to find a hawk perching on his windowsill in his bedroom. From the look which was akin to a displeased glare the animal was giving him, he had been waiting outside for quite some time now. He opened his window and let the messenger in. He read the letter attached to the bird's left feet and hurriedly dressed himself, thoughts about his breakfast completely forgotten.

**-SasuNaru is love-**

The head councilors stood beside Tsunade's desk and silently regarded Naruto the moment Tsunade began her explanation.

"I have no idea if you heard about this but Uchiha Sasuke returned to Konoha-"

"Tsunade-hime, I don't think your ANBU captain needs to know all details of this," one of the councilors said frankly.

The blond woman scowled and without taking her gaze from the blond male, answered calmly, "If you want Naruto to perform this mission well, then it is best to give him the details."

"This is just a simple-" she froze up unable to continue as she found herself at the receiving end of the Hokage's murderous glare. Miffed, she stiffly look ahead.

To them, it was just a simple mission, but to Naruto, it wasn't because it involved Sasuke. They were oblivious to the things that went between the two males that had left him more than broken. And although her personal reasons had mixed with business matter, Tsunade was certain that he had to understand for him to concentrate on his mission because danger lurked even in simplest mission and she didn't want himto fall into its claws.

"He came here with an offer of sovereignty over Otogakure until Fuuma Hanzaki, his successor, can manage to govern all by myself. In exchange of this aid, the village will be loyal to Konoha."

Naruto nodded while ignoring the pessimistic voice saying that there was a bigger possibility of Otogakure to betray them rather than remain loyal, after all its first two leaders were traitors of their own village. He picked up a file Tsunade tossed at the edge of her table and browsed through.

"That man on the first page is a retiree but he was one of the best diplomats during his years. After discussion with Sasuke, the council decided to accept Kuwata's application. The other five names you'll see in the file are his entourage - his two secretaries and three guards. All of them were chosen by the council.

"Where does my team stand in this plan?" he asked although he had a very good guess.

"To ensure the talks will go smoothly, Sasuke will be sent with them. Your team will guard the party to Oto and then guard Sasuke back to Konoha while carrying a contract signed by Hanzaki."

"Kuwata-san will hand over the contract to me?"

"Exactly. Get your team ready. Time of departure is five hours from now."

"Roger." He hesitated for awhile before he disappeared to get his team. Once again, breakfast forgotten.

**-SasuNaru is love-**

Hinata brought her cup of coffee to her mouth then paused midway when she felt Naruto's chakra near the window. She turned her head just as Naruto was about to knock on the window glass. She stood up and slid the window open. She watched silently as her boyfriend stepped into the medicnin's break room.

"I needed to see you," Naruto explained before the Hyuuga heiress would scold him for visiting her like this. "I'm deployed to an A-class mission. My team will leave within an hour."

Hinata nodded. "Take care."

"Sure." For a moment, he considered telling Hinata the details; expressing how he didn't like to be with Sasuke but he knew that it might just make her worry for nothing.

Hinata yelped when she was jerked into Naruto's arms and was urgently kissed. Her eyes fluttered close while her arms wrapped around tanned neck.

_Please, please be mine always..._

**-SasuNaru is love-**

Sasuke was sitting on the couch with his knapsack by his feet while waiting for Kakashi who volunteered to wash the dishes they used for their early lunch. He could hear the man whistling from the kitchen. His former sensei was obviously happy, unlike him.

It had been four days since he had seen Naruto and from what he had deducted from Kakashi's talk, the blonde was unaffected by their kiss, unlike him. His dreams were nothing but about him and their passion that burned like an inferno. His thoughts never went far from him even during his discussion with the council. He was in too deep and with the way things were, there was no way but down deeper.

_Dammit, Naruto!_

"Let's go, Sasuke," Kakashi said. "We still have to drop by at the admin building to meet them."

Sasuke nodded._ I'm not gonna let you go._

**-SasuNaru is love-**

"They are here," Shino stated to his teammates who looked up. One by one, they rose to their feet and waited for their captain to speak.

"Gentlemen," Naruto started in a calm and polite tone. "My team will accompany you all the way to Otogakure. Whatever happens, we will protect you. That much I can assure you." He looked at his team's ward, letting his eyes met their eyes one person at a time. He steeled himself before he established eye contact with the former Otokage and tore his gaze away when those smoldering eyes were about to draw him into that dangerous abyss where logic and reason never existed. "If you need anything, just approached any of us and we will try to meet them as long as the situation allows." He gave them a smile. "Please cooperate with us. Shall we now leave?"

He let out a small sound when he remembered that he hadn't eaten breakfast and lunch yet. He smiled sheepishly when he noticed that Shino was looking at him curiously. His friends shouldn't know or there would be hell to pay especially if Sakura or Tsunade or Iruka would know. He shrugged his shoulders, telling his sub-captain that it was nothing.

Shino hesitated before he left to join the others, leaving the blonde with the Uchiha.

"After you," Naruto said, although the other male was already moving. Mentally, he scowled when Sasuke passed him by and brushed their hands against each other. The nerve of the bastard! He inwardly bristled more when he noticed that slight smirk on his handsome face. Fucking Sasuke!

**-SasuNaru is love-**

With few breaks which were short, the group reached the village gates around eight in the evening. The guards immediately let them in the moment they saw Sasuke. There were murmurs of 'Sasuke-sama' and 'Welcome home' as the group were led to the village's administration building.

Hanzaki stopped his discussion with a kunoichi the moment the group from Konoha were led inside his office.

"Welcome, welcome," he greeted happily. "It is nice to see you here, Sasuke-kun."

One by one, Sasuke did the introduction and when he got to Naruto, he was surprised when Hanzaki and Sasame recognized him. He looked even more surprised when the blushing girl threw herself to the positively glowing blonde.

"We met Naruto-kun a long time ago when they came looking for you," the current otokage explained but Sasuke was paying more attention to the girl's conversation with Naruto.

Hanzaki coughed loudly, trying to get his niece's attention. When it didn't work, he barked her name and the kunoichi had the gall to look sheepish. "Our guests are tired and probably hungry so show them their rooms and then lead them to the dining hall."

The girl saluted.

He looked at Kuwata, "Shall we have our meeting tomorrow?

"Of course."

Except for Sasuke, the rest of the guests were being escorted. He looked unperturbed while the other man let his gaze rove over him in curiosity.

Obviously satisfied, Hanzaki leaned on his chair. "Konoha is treating you well, I see. Amazing how the name Uchiha can do wonders."

Sasuke snorted. "I am under surveillance around the clock."

The current otokage grinned. "If you don't like it, come back here. I'm more than willing to step down and give you the seat of power."

"Changing otokage too frequently means instability and might cause unrest among the villagers," Sasuke stated matter-of-factly, making Hanzaki chuckle.

"You won't mind such things if you want it." He leaned forward. "What does Konoha have that Oto doesn't have?"

Sasuke shrugged because it wasn't a question of 'what' but 'who'.

"Konoha might be your roots, but if it's honor and glory you want for your clan, you can have it from here. Nobody will stop-"

"No." Sasuke shook his head. The shadows his bangs created over his face made the tints of desperation more pronounced and his dark eyes more guarded. "It's not about my clan. Not this time." Before Hanzaki could ask further, he said, "Enough. I want to talk about the meeting tomorrow."

Hanzaki immediately sat up straight, his face serious and calculating - a complete mirror of Sasuke's.

**-SasuNaru is love-**

"Roger that," Naruto said. "Good night, Kuwata-san."

"Good night, Naruto-kun."

Quietly, the blonde stepped out and closed the door. He hurriedly walked along the hallway.

"Sasuke-kun is here," Karin muttered under her breath in a melodious tone. She allowed herself to skip few steps in her excitement and joy. Sasuke probably missed her, no, she was certain that he did.

She turned around the corner and the next thing she knew, she was sitting on the floor with her butt stinging. She looked up, her caustic tongue ready to lash out hostile words at the same time a hand was offered to her.

"Are you okay?" came that apologetic voice and all words died on her throat, upon seeing the dashing blonde.

Karin suddenly became too aware of being a female and became too self-conscious. She swallowed loudly and nodded her head. Shyly, she took the offered hand. At that single pull by the callous hand, she felt the man's strength and blushed at the thoughts running through her mind. "Sorry about that," she heard him say before he smiled and oh God! it was such a beautiful smile that it was an effort in her part not to swoon. She watched him go... watched him walked away until she couldn't see him anymore. She turned around then paled and froze when reality caught up with her. The man was a shinobi... Konoha's shinobi and she couldn't feel his chakra which was impossible on her part. Even if it had been concealed, her innate skills should have allowed her to feel even a trickle of it. Aware of the danger the dashing man posed towards the village, she broke into a run towards the Otokage's office with her previous reason of going there momentarily overwritten by this pressing matter.

**-SasuNaru is love-**

Sasuke nodded. "I see. That is better-" He and Hanzaki looked at the doorway when the door burst open.

"Hanzaki-sama!" Karin exclaimed. In her rush, she hadn't notice Sasuke. "Allow me to dispatch a team of shinobi for surveillance."

"What's the problem?" Hanzaki inquired.

"I met a blond Konoha shinobi and I couldn't sense his chakra."

"A blond Konoha shinobi?" the older man echoed. "Naruto-kun, you mean?

"I don't know his name but I know the trouble he can do." She readjusted her spectacles, causing light to glint from her glasses and making her look more calculating and foreboding.

Hanzaki settled his chin on his linked hands, a proof that he was weighing things. When Naruto had stepped into his office, he had immediately noticed that the man had concealed his chakra but he didn't know how far he did until Karin came. He had assumed that Karin would feel his chakra but had been proven wrong. What was the blonde's purpose of concealing his chakra? Hadn't he thought that he might caused trouble by doing such thing?

"I don't think our hokage will risk the safety of these gentlemen," Sasuke stated coolly. _Especially that of her dearest Naruto_, he added mentally. "Konoha won't pass up this chance of alliance."

Hanzaki sighed. He was aware that Sasuke was now tensed and wondered why he seemed to take this personally. "I know what you mean and there might be chances that Naruto-kun will be offended when he finds out that he is being watched. I am aware of the possible consequence and as Otokage, the safety of the villagers is my top priority... but if Naruto-kun will stir trouble, I won't hesitate to attack him myself." He paused to look at Sasuke in the eye. "Even if it means going against you."

Sasuke looked indifferent but the older man could have sworn that his shoulders looked more relaxed. He looked at Karin. "There's no need for him to be watched." However, the kunoichi was no longer listening to him because her attention was now directed to the Uchiha and he could only roll his eyes in exasperation.

**-SasuNaru is love-**

Sasuke's heart thud in fear, nervousness and excitement when he stopped in front of Naruto's room and suppressing his chakra to the extreme didn't help matters. This level of concealment made his whole body too tight for him. It was like a force was squeezing him into something smaller. Who would have thought that an Uchiha as talented as him would use this kind of stealth not for a mission but to see Naruto who was on the other side of the door. God! He was pathetic! He knew that but he wanted to see the blonde while he was sleeping because that was the only time he was allowed to be awed and to feel longing in its full force.

Sasuke took out the key he slyly convinced Karin to obtain for him and unlocked the door then slowly turned the doorknob. He took a peak into the room and his eyes fell unto the lump on the bed. Ah Naruto, his mind stated the obvious.

Quietly, he closed the door and moved towards the bed with his heart pounding crazily. However, the closer he got to the bed, the clearer it was to him that the lump was too small for it to be Naruto's body. The bed looked like it had been slept in. Did Naruto feel him and decide to hide? Sasuke looked around but there was no trace of the blonde. Or his object of affection probably left but where would he go at this time of the night? He had no idea.

Unbeknownst to him, Naruto who couldn't sleep was at Kuwata's room, keeping watch just like any paranoid guard would.

**-SasuNaru is love-**

The next day, Kuwata and his two assistants had a closed door meeting with Hanzaki which was presided by Sasuke while the rest of the Konoha party stood guard. The meeting lasted until late afternoon causing the guards to do shift so they could eat their meal and take breaks.

When the meeting was over, Kuwata had called Naruto into his room to have dinner while the diplomat, as requested by the hokage, informed the blonde the important points of the meeting to be relayed to her upon their arrival in Konoha.

"This settles everything," Kuwata said as he handed few scrolls to the blonde. He gazed through the window. "I had no idea how Otogakure used to be but it is obvious that the Uchiha did a great job in improving and developing."

Naruto's cool mask remained intact and firm but his heart clenched in jealousy and pain at the fact that was so obvious to him the second he stepped inside the village. Sasuke had given this village his care and attention while he who had seek him out... Wait, did he have the right to be jealous? To be hurt? Sasuke had thrown him away, no, he didn't choose him from the start. Naruto had just assumed that he did and that was why it hurt more. He wondered what this village had that had gotten the things he wanted for himself from Sasuke.

"It makes me wonder why he returned to Konoha where there is hatred for him when-"

"Because he's a masochist," Naruto interrupted jokingly.

The diplomat gave him an amused look. "You don't know? I thought that you are friends."

Naruto gave a dry chuckle. _Me too_, he wanted to say but that would be letting the man know the pain he still carry like a heavy cross and he couldn't allow that. "No, we aren't friends..."

Kuwata gave him a look reminiscent of the one the Sandaime would give him when the latter wanted him to understand something beyond his understanding and know things that were out of his grasp. Was that what the man in front of him wanted him to do? Did he understand something with his old age? Suddenly, Naruto felt uncomfortable and he must had felt it because he gave him an apologetic smile. "Sorry for keeping you away from your bed with this old man's ramblings."

Naruto shook his head. "It's okay. I will be staying here to guard-"

"I can't let you do that. I can't let you convince me like last night." At this, the younger man looked smug. "You're leaving tomorrow so I want you to sleep." And when the man turned around and ignored him, Naruto knew he had been dismissed.

**-SasuNaru is love-**

Hanabi let out a satisfied smile the moment she stepped out from the bathtub. Although the wound she got from her latest mission was throbbing in pain, she was glad her muscles no longer ached. She paused from her walk along the covered pathway that led towards the main house when she spotted Hinata sitting inside the arbor of the Hyuuga inner garden. She joined her sister there and one look at her, she knew her woes.

"You look like you've lost Naruto," she stated mildly. When Hinata remained quiet, Hanabi let out a sigh."You made it feel like as if his former love returned rather than his former bes triend. You are worrying over nothing."

Hinata's hold on her tea cup tightened. What did Hanabi knew other than Naruto's insistence on saving Sasuke, his commitment and his lifeless eyes when he returned from what had been his last encounter with said Uchiha? She knew nothing of the blonde's devotion, commitment and especially, his love for Sasuke that went past friendship and brotherhood. Naruto had been in love with Sasuke. When she heard of this, it had been a shock. Who would have thought that Naruto would feel that way towards Sasuke? However, when she really thought about it, it made sense. Sasuke had been the first person he had made bonds with. He had been the first person that acknowledged Naruto. And while to anyone, these reasons were petty, to Naruto, it was everything. That was why, Hinata felt threatened because of her thoughts swirling around the idea that Sasuke would return those affections or the idea that he would rekindle the feelings Naruto had for him once with his presence. What were the chances that such possibility would happen? Would she be able to let Naruto go then? Could she totally let him go?

"Hinabi, you don't understand," she said while looking at the green liquid in her tea cup.

"I understand," Hinabi insisted. "You're just letting your thoughts run away. It is as simple as that." And while her sister might be right, Hinata paused. "You might be right," she stated.

"Then come on, let's go inside and sleep unless you want to mess up your work."

"Just go ahead. I just want to watch the moon while I drink my tea."

Hanabi looked at her, unconvinced. Hinata sipped her tea before looking at her younger sister. "I'm not kidding. I won't think of any stupid thoughts." She tilted her head and gave her a reassuring smile. Hanabi huffed but left anyway. And the moment, she was gone, the smile on the Hyuuga heiress's face slipped.

She looked at the moon, silently raising the question she wanted to ask Naruto who was also watching the moon in Otogakure.

_You won't leave me, will you?_

**-SasuNaru is love-**

Juugo let out a loud gasp as his breath was knock out from his lungs the moment Sasuke slammed him to the ground for the fifth time and he knew that he had lost this spar which had started two hours ago. However, he seemed grateful that his bruises won't be as many as those of Suigetsu who also had a spar with the Uchiha the night before. He didn't understand why their former leader wanted to spar at this time of the night. It was like he had so much tension that he needed to release or he would explode although he looked calm when he said nothing but 'Let's spar now' as if it was a whim of his and perhaps it was. He was pulled out from his thoughts when Sasuke offered him a hand.

"Let's go back," Sasuke said after he pulled him to his feet. He turned away, obviously expecting Juugo to follow him and the latter did. Sasuke didn't talk and Juugo, knowing that his companion hated to talk especially about trivial things, decided to keep quiet. He wasn't a good conversationalist himself, anyway. They walked side by side along the path that overlooked a wide lake but the next time, Juugo took a sideway glance at his companion, he had to take a double look upon realizing that the man was no longer by his side. He immediately stopped and whirled around to find Sasuke few steps behind, standing stiff and his attention riveted to something he was seeing ahead of him. Juugo retraced his steps and followed the dark-haired man's gaze. He looked confused upon seeing their blond visitor standing and unmoving on the surface of the lake, his head tilted towards the full moon. To him, it was such a lonesome sight, a solitary figure standing at the center of such wide lake.

He took a look at his companion and seeing something akin to longing flashing across that pale face, Juugo knew that Sasuke had no plans of going back with him soon. "I'll be going," he said and would have assume that he didn't hear him if not for the slight nod of the latter's head. Amusement crossed his face when the pale man was the first one to move, but this time, it wasn't towards the main campus but towards that lake. Shaking his head, he continued his walk. Suigetsu had been right. Karin didn't have a chance from the very beginning.

Too engrossed with his thoughts that harbored 'what-ifs' and with his one-sided conversation of the moon, Naruto didn't notice the soft crunching of the ground beneath Sasuke's sandals; ripples that ripped through the calm surface of the water and his scent carried by the gentle wind. He didn't even notice Sasuke standing in front of him until he pulled his gaze from the beautiful heavenly body. He looked surprised as if the man standing in front of him was nothing but illusion that had been conjured by his thoughts or by the moon for its sadistic pleasure. "Sasuke," he murmured breathlessly because his chest was aching at the sight of the Uchiha, looking so handsome, haughty and yet vulnerable at the same time.

Sasuke gulped when those blue eyes engulfed him. He closed his eyes for few seconds, obviously overwhelmed with how Naruto looked at him intensely. His heart ached with quiet happiness of having this kind of moment when he looked tolerant and trusting. Slowly, he raised a hand and brushed his knuckles against one tanned cheek. His greedy eyes didn't miss how the blonde's eyelids fluttered close for a second and how he leaned into his touch as if craving for him, needing his touch. They stared into each other's eyes and all the words he wanted to say at that moment rushed upwards and slipped past his lips in a whisper, "Naruto." Unable to stop his urge and not wanting to stop it also, he leaned forward, his intent clear.

_Don't deny us this moment._

**TBC**

* * *

It's a perfect way of ending this chapter, don't you think so? -smiles wickedly- While Kuwata is an original character, Fuuma clan appeared during those boring filler days of Naruto anime.


	4. Confessions

**Naruto characters belong to Kishimoto-san.**

SasuNaru, yaoi, OOC and unbeta-read. And yeah, SaiSaku.

* * *

**Chapter 3: Confessions**

Too engrossed with his thoughts that harbored 'what-ifs' and with his one-sided conversation of the moon, Naruto didn't notice the soft crunching of the ground beneath Sasuke's sandals; ripples that ripped through the calm surface of the water and Sasuke's scent carried by the gentle wind. He didn't even notice Sasuke standing in front of him until he pulled his gaze from the beautiful heavenly body. He looked surprised as if the man standing in front of him was nothing but illusion that had been conjured by his thoughts or by the moon for its sadistic pleasure. "Sasuke," he murmured breathlessly because his chest was aching at the sight of the Uchiha, looking so handsome, haughty and yet vulnerable at the same time.

Sasuke gulped when those blue eyes engulfed him. He closed his eyes for few seconds, obviously overwhelmed with how Naruto looked at him intensely. His heart ached with quiet happiness of having this kind of moment when Naruto looked tolerant and trusting. Slowly, he raised a hand and brushed a knuckle against one tanned cheek. His greedy eyes didn't miss how the blonde's eyelids fluttered close for a second and how he leaned into his touch as if craving for it, needing it. They stared into each other's eyes and all the words he wanted to say at that moment rushed upwards and slipped past his lips in a whisper, "Naruto." Unable to stop his urge and not wanting to stop it also, he leaned forward, his intent clear.

The kiss was nothing but a soft pressing of his lips against Naruto's and it lasted only few seconds. Sasuke pulled away and stared into blue eyes, assessing Naruto's reaction. When he saw no hatred, disgust or dislike, he pressed their lips together and this time, it was more serious. He was more than pressing. He was molding Naruto's lips against his, tracing them with the tip of his tongue. And when Naruto returned the pressure and opened his mouth, Sasuke was more than eager to meet the blonde's tongue halfway. It was like a dream come true except that it was far better than he imagined. Pleasure was shooting through him and the first moan that rose between them had been his, but he had nothing to be ashamed of. He wanted this... needed it even. This was how Naruto felt in his arms. This was how Naruto tasted like.

Naruto's arms slowly moved and wrapped around Sasuke's shoulders, pulling him close, wanting more of that pleasure that spread through his veins. He slanted his head, deepening the intimate exchange while his mind registered Sasuke's taste, the feel of his tongue tangled with his and the warmth of his hard body. It was intoxicating to have Sasuke like this, seeking him with a passion especially when he was in his arms.

They pulled back slightly and stared once more into each other's eyes, hearts racing and panting.

"Naruto," Sasuke whispered, his lips brushing against the blonde's. "...you..." Was all he could managed to say. Although it was just a single word, a pronoun to be exact, it was his first confession. It meant Naruto was the reason he came back and that it was him who he wanted. He wondered if Naruto understand the meaning behind it and he hoped he did especially when it was the blonde who initiated their next kiss. He didn't hold back with his kisses just as Naruto didn't. His arms went around his waist and pulled him closer. He could continue this on and on, oh God! He could and the kiss would probably go on forever if not for the hoot of the owl that shattered the magical moment that had engulfed him. One moment he had everything he needed and then the next, he had lost that intoxicating warmth and that source of mind-numbing pleasure. He opened his eyes and found Naruto standing few steps from him, breathless from their kiss and eyes wide with fear and anger. Their eyes met for the last time before the blonde disappeared.

Sasuke stared at the place where Naruto stood and few seconds later, a realization hit him. Naruto had been scared and why would he be? A smirk graced his swollen lips because he knew the answer. What had happened between them had affected the blonde more than he wanted it to. The blonde must had felt their connection; must had realized that their bonds weren't dead... couldn't be erased and now, he was running away. Ah Naruto was really an idiot as if Sasuke would let him run away especially after what had transpired between them.

_Foolish dobe, I'll seek you out... forever._

Naruto leaned back on the door the second after he bolted it. He closed his eyes and let himself slipped to the floor. God! What had he done? Not only did he let Sasuke kiss him but he also returned the kiss with an equal fervor. He was so stupid to let himself be enchanted; to let his secret desires get the better of him when Sasuke was probably playing with him just like before. However, the image of Sasuke looking at him like that while whispering his name and the second person personal pronoun fleeted through his brain. Could Sasuke fake the look he had on his face when he murmured that? Could his skills allow him to make that look so real and sincere? Naruto doubt it and because he did, he couldn't deny the fact that Sasuke, after all the painful things he did to him, wanted him. It made his head spin and his heart race.

He drew his legs to his chest and hugged them for dear life. "Sasuke," he muttered, feeling tired, "why now?" He stayed like that, awake, scared and lost, for the whole night.

**-SasuNaru is love-**

Naruto raised two fingers to signal his team and his ward to stop and take a break. They all dropped to the ground and settled down. "This will be our last break before we make a full-speed towards Konoha," he told them. Wanting to escape from the pair of eyes that had trained on him since this morning, he stood up and told Shino, "I'll take a pee." Even before he could take one step forehead, he heard Sasuke said, "Me too."

Naruto could have said no or ask one of his team members to accompany Sasuke but that might raise unwanted questions or assumptions from his team so he looked over his shoulder and said, "Let's go."

They walked silently with Sasuke walking ahead of Naruto and when the latter decided they were far enough, they stopped.

"Well?" Naruto asked, breaking the tensed silence that immediately settled between them the moment they stopped.

Sasuke smirked as he turned around to regard the blonde. "Dobe, we're both liars." He walked few steps to lessen the distance between them. "We aren't here to pee." He looked Naruto in the eye, silently challenging him to deny his statement. "You're here to escape."

"I'm here to escape from your unwanted attention," Naruto growled. "What about you? Why are you here?"

"To talk with you," Sasuke stated eloquently.

Naruto tensed. "We have nothing to talk about."

"Nothing?" The pale man echoed in a voice laced with anger. "I think there are a lot of things we should talk about, like last night's-"

"That was nothing!" the other male snapped. He placed his hands behind his back to hide how they were shaking. He knew he said the wrong thing when those dark eyes burned with anger and were tinted with red.

"Shut up!" Sasuke snapped and he advanced towards him with the intention of showing him what nothing was.

Strangely, Naruto remained where he stood, unperturbed with the approaching Sasuke. He could feel the waves of anger coming from the man and it thrilled him. His streak of recklessness thrived in danger and right now, that danger was his former best friend. To provoke the man more, he held his gaze, silently taunting him.

Suddenly, with a speed he hadn't expected nor his body ready to counter, Sasuke pulled him, whirled them around and slammed him against a tree, a distant from where he stood. Tensed and making sure that the explosion he heard few seconds ago wasn't his imagination, he peaked from their tree and saw on the tree where he leaned ago was a kunai with few remaining shreds of the exploded tag still attached. He scanned the area which had thousands of shuriken scattered around. All this from that tag and he didn't sense anything wrong because-

"Are you okay, scaredy-cat?" He heard that voice laced with worry asked. He looked up and found his answer when his eyes met black ones. God! That pair of eyes would be the death of him.

He was about to snap at Sasuke when he noticed a cut on pale left cheek and it was bleeding. Without thinking, he reached up with the intention of wiping that trickle of blood, but at the last second, he moved that hand behind Sasuke's neck to grab hold of the kunai that was making its way to the dark-haired man. A smirk crossed his lips while he said in slight sarcasm, "The great Uchiha puts his guard down." He dropped the kunai down and as it fell to the ground, Sasuke tightened his hold around him and lunged themselves upward.

"I see four," Sasuke said as they crouched on a branch.

"I feel seven of them," Naruto told him. He tilted his head to where the rest of their companions were waiting and added, "I hope the rest are unharmed."

"Hn."

That was the end of their conversation and they lunged downward meeting two of their enemies halfway.

The sounds of confrontation echoed throughout the silence that hung like veil over the area and sent all animals with a good sense of self-preservation fleeing for safety. Jutsu after jutsu was used and countered; weapons were dodged or found their mark; blood gushed and seeped into the fertile ground; life flowed and disappeared like wisp of steam and pants were drowned out by shouts.

With a yell, Naruto whirled just as Sasuke turned around. Over their crossed kunai, the two stared at each other and blinked when they recognized who they were facing. They lowered their weapons and silence settled back. It was just the two of them amidst the corpses, the mess and the scent of death and blood. Their breaths mingled and their noses were brushing but Naruto didn't give a damn. It felt good to be alive. It felt good to know Sasuke was alive and Sasuke probably felt the same way, with the way his eyes rove over his face. He watched almost in trance when Sasuke slanted his head to the side and he knew that Sasuke was going to kiss him. Right now, he wouldn't mind being kissed. He would probably kissed him back. Yeah, definitely he would except that their moment was broken again by a loud explosion coming from where the team were taking a rest. He heard Sasuke cursed and just arched an eyebrow towards him, secretly flattered that the man found him wanting. They rushed towards that particular area and arrived just in time, for the last enemy to fall.

"Is everybody all right?" Naruto asked. His team members nodded.

"For rogue ninjas, they are pretty weaker than my expectation," Shino commented. He gave his leader a silent inquiry.

"We were attacked but we're okay." He nodded to them, "Let's move out."

The team nodded in affirmation and all at once, they became nothing but a blur of black wind leaping from one branch to another.

**-SasuNaru is love-**

"Thank you for your hard work," Tsunade told the Naruto's team. "Get some rest." With a slight wave of her hand, she dismissed them except for Naruto and Sasuke.

With just the three of them, Naruto handed over the important scroll and watched quietly while Tsunade let her eyes scanned over the words and signatures. Satisfied, she said, "Kakashi is probably done with his task and is reporting to the annex building. You can take Sasuke there. Once you're done, come back here for your final report."

"Roger that," Naruto nodded with an arrogant grin, obviously happy to be rid of the source of his confusion and discomfort. He looked at Sasuke and said, "Let's get moving, bastard."

While following his ward, Naruto rolled his head over his shoulders and rubbed his nape. His muscles didn't hurt... they were just stiffed and his body was getting heavy. His head was also heavy at the same time light. He had this feeling of being cold at the same time hot. He clenched his clammy hands while wondering what had caused this condition. He had been hit in the previous fights but no weapons had made contact with his skin and his smelling senses didn't pick up any strange smell so obviously, he wasn't poisoned. He stopped when his world spun in a dangerous speed and just as quickly, halted, but the funny thing was, the ground now looked closer and was moving upward. He stared at the cobblestone and considered its texture before his mind caught up what was happening, but his body had finally given up and Naruto realized that the cause of this was the lack of food and sleep. He cursed, readying his unresponsive body for the incoming pain while thinking that Sakura would definitely kill him. As if he would let that happen.

In plain coincidence, Sasuke turned around, just in time to see the blonde leaning forward, eyes dazed and huge with confusion. Sasuke moved to catch the blonde but his outstretched hands reached nothing but air as another pair of hands grabbed Naruto and steadied him. Sasuke looked at the owner of those hands and scowled.

Naruto shook his head slightly while he was being pressed to a hard chest. He knew this smell... It brought many memories. "Neji," he murmured and tilted his head to look at his friend. He was probably tilting too much because the arm around his back tightened. "You're home. Did you get hurt? Injured?" He brought his hands against Neji's chest and started looking for any injuries.

"I think you're the one who's injured."

Naruto shook his head. "My body is just heavy and I feel..." He couldn't give up his consciousness even though oblivion was whispering promises to his ears, inviting him. He just couldn't...

Sasuke's scowl deepened when Neji leaned forward to Naruto's right ear.

"Hey, it's okay to let go," Neji said. "You don't have to worry about anything."

"But Sasuke... Kakashi-sensei."

Lilac eyes regarded the standing Uchiha aloofly and looked at half-empty blue eyes. "I'll handle it. Trust me."

Naruto just gave him a small smile before he went limp in Neji's arms. Neji looked at Shikamaru who scratched his head and muttered, "Troublesome." He approached Sasuke and said, "I'll lead you to Kakashi-san."

The Uchiha nodded but he didn't move until Neji disappeared with an unconscious Naruto in a silent poof.

**-SasuNaru is love-**

Naruto turned his head on his pillow, buried his face against it before he slowly opened his eyes to see a worried-looking Hinata sitting by his bedside. He closed his eyes trying to remember where he was and what he was doing here. It took a moment for his sluggish mind to register that he was in the hospital and what had brought him here. He groaned loudly causing his girlfriend to throw herself to his bed and called his name.

"Are you hurt? Tell me where it hurts?"

Naruto chuckled. "I will hurt after Sakura is done with me," he quipped and opened his eyes to regard a glaring Hinata who gave him a glass of water.

"You've been reckless again. When are you going to stop this foolishness?" Hinata asked in a controlled anger. Naruto just smiled, admiring how she still looked calm and beautiful even when her eyes were shooting flames of anger and then it hit him. He missed her. He missed her so much for all the things she represented in his life. He placed the now empty glass on the side table and reached out for her.

"You deserve what you will get from Tsunade-sama and from Sakura."

"I missed you."

"And- eh?"

"I missed you," Naruto said and tugged her down for a heart-melting kiss. Lilac-colored eyes disappeared beneath heavy eyelids while he deepened the kiss, tasting serenity and constantness. He blithely ignored the voice telling him that he was seeking Sasuke's taste and that burning sensation that never failed to consume him as it rose between them.

They pulled back when they heard a loud cough from the doorway. Hinata blushed while Naruto looked smug. However, his smugness disappeared the moment Sakura brought her fist down on his head.

"How many times do we have to tell you to get good rest and eat properly?" she asked. She tapped his head with his medical chart. "Do you know? You're not fatigue but extreme fatigue! EXTREME! " Sakura shouted.

"Sakura," Hinata started carefully, afraid to provoke more of the girl's anger. "Please lower your voice. This is a hospital."

The pink-haired medic-nin relaxed slightly but was still glaring at her stupid friend.

"My shift begins a minute from now," Hinata said meekly, the tension of the room suffocating her.

"I'll see you tonight, then," Naruto said and sent her a dazzling smile. Hinata returned the smile and went to the door just as Tsunade came in.

"Hearing Sakura's shout, I assumed you were awake," Tsunade started as she calmly approached the bed where a wary Naruto sat. She quickly flicked his forehead and smiled when Naruto howled in pain.

"Are you trying to kill me here?" he demanded. He looked meek when Tsunade glared at him.

"We're not the one who's depriving you of rest and food," the older woman snapped. "And for three days, you slept-"

"Three days? Why wasn't I awakened? The missions-"

"There won't be any mission for you until I deemed that you're fit for any."

"But baa-"

"What was it this time? What kept you? Is it the Uchiha?" Tsunade and Sakura didn't miss how Naruto flinched over the name. "What was about the Uchiha?"

"Yeah, what about him?" a new voice asked from the door. The three of them looked and found Kakashi and Sasuke standing by the doorway. Tsunade glared at Kakashi but found it useless when the latter was still burying his face into that orange book.

"Don't you know how to knock?" Naruto whined.

"Hearing all the ruckus, I see no point of knocking," Kakashi answered. When there was no comeback, he looked up and found the three to be looking at Sasuke's hands. He too looked and stifled his chuckle at seeing Sasuke looking nervous. He snapped his book and inserted it into one of his pocket.

"Thanks, Sasuke-**kun** for carrying **my** flower," he said and grabbed the single daisy from pale hands. Naruto, Sakura and Tsunade continued to watch while Kakashi slid the daisy's stem into the elongated vase, joining the other daisies before giving them a lazy smile.

Naruto coughed. "Thanks, sensei." He looked at Tsunade and Sakura and said with insistence, "It isn't about anyone or anything that I became exhausted." And seeing both fear and silent plea danced on those blue eyes, the two medic-nin nodded. They agreed to let such matter slide until Sasuke would leave the room.

Tsunade stood up and said one more time, "No missions for you until you're fit."

Sakura jotted that condition on Naruto's file, gave one worried glance to her friend and followed her teacher out.

Naruto sucked in a deep breath and said, "Sasuke, let's talk..." he knew he would regret this but he added anyway, "alone at the rooftop."

If Kakashi had any reaction to that statement, his face didn't give it away. He just said "I'll be at the lobby."

The two climbed the stairs and stepped out into the rooftop. Without further ado, Naruto inquired bluntly, "Why are you here?" Then belatedly clarified, just in case Sasuke would misunderstand him. "In Konoha?"

For a long moment, Sasuke just stared at him, "Why shouldn't I be?"

The blonde shook his head, confused with the intensity in those dark eyes and their owner's reply. "You don't want to be here. You made that very clear." His blue eyes were filled with hurt when a certain painful memory came to his mind. The ghost scar throbbed in pain.

As the wind blew by, Sasuke tucked few hair strands that blocked his view of his everything. "You're impossible. When I left, you persistently chase after me and now that I'm here, you want me gone." He shook his head and let out an exasperated sigh. "Are you that hard to please?"

Naruto fought back the blush that should color his cheeks and ignored the speed of his heartbeat at that statement. "You want to please me after what you did in that cave years ago? Or have you forgotten what you made we went through at that place?" There was anger lacing his voice now and the ghost scar didn't make things better. It throbbed more.

"Back then, did you want me to say 'I'll go home to you' when I could have died? Wouldn't that be giving you false hope?" the dark-haired man snapped back. He remembered all too clearly of him using all of his chakra while his asshole of a brother showed Susanou and of him lying half-past dead near Madara's corpse.

Naruto mentally cursed. Why couldn't Sasuke said 'with you'? Why must he be so passionate in declaring his feelings for him when it wouldn't do him or them good? Why must warmth flow through his body after that statement. It was supposedly to mean nothing to him. "But you survived and stayed there!"

"I had waited for you," Sasuke almost roared in frustration, the wound in his heart widening. _But you had moved on. You were too busy with Hinata._ He could have said either of these but he settled for, "You weren't there when I was ready." With his first mission accomplished, he was ready to be himself and to seek his own happiness after almost nine years of being the clan's avenger. He stopped being _the_ clan the moment he killed them both.

Naruto scowled. He clenched his fists while anger together with frustration, annoyance and disgust flowed through his veins. Was this it? Was everything his fault? Was the Uchiha blaming him for all things? What a very ridiculous thing to do. When Sasuke was about to speak, he lunged forward. He couldn't stand it anymore. "Shut up!" he shouted and bared his fangs.

For a short while, Sasuke just dodged his attacks but when his attacker became persistent and determined to do damage, he fought back. It didn't matter that his opponent was Naruto and perhaps because it was him, excitement coursed through his veins. With one hand on the ground for balance, he flipped back then immediately leaned sideward just in time to avoid a swinging leg. He parried four consecutive punches and delivered an alternate set of kicks and punches which Naruto deftly dodged with quick footwork. Damn. Naruto had improved. There was annoyance in that realization as well as pride. Things may had changed a lot but the fact that the blonde was still his worthy opponent hadn't. In lightning speed, he moved behind his opponent and swung his fist just as the latter turned around. He looked pleased to see the blonde sliding few steps at the impact of his punch.

Naruto wiped the blood trickling from the side of his mouth and scowled. That had hurt a lot but he'd certainly return the attack tenfold. He moved towards the bastard.

Sasuke snorted. Didn't the idiot learn that frontal attack was the least appropriate strategy? Obviously, he still had a long way to go. When Naruto was within his hitting range, he thrust his right leg forward aiming for his chest. Dark eyes widened when Naruto disappeared from his sight. At the slightest pressure on his right shoulder, he turned his head around to find a smugly grinning blonde and he was standing upside down with the his left hand balancing him.

The said blonde's mouth moved to silently say, "Fuck you." Then the next thing, Sasuke knew was the pain that exploded on his back the moment Naruto slammed his feet against it causing him to stumble forward and wheeze.

"Asshole," he spat, eyes blazing in fury and tainted in red.

Sakura smiled at her very young patient. "Your rashes are almost gone and your fever had lowered down. That's a very wonderful news."

"Then I can go home and play again? the girl asked while she trained her huge eyes on the medicnin who nodded. "When you're hundred percent fine."

Beaming, the girl replied, "Okay."

Sakura smiled and patted her head once before she left. Leaning against the closed door, she let out a dreamy sigh thinking of _him_ and the family they would create. She giggled until her eyes focused on the adjacent rooftop.

She crossed the hallway and pressed her hands against the window as she tried to see more what she first thought to be a trick of the sunlight. However, she was sure it was Naruto but what was he doing there? She had her answer when Sasuke came into her line of sight. Incredulity fell on her face the moment she realized what those two were doing. Naruto was eluding Sasuke's successive attacks by leaping and when the dark-haired man grabbed the blonde's right ankle with both hands, she bolted to her right. She didn't have to stay longer to see Naruto being slammed to the ground or to know that the fight was serious.

She took a left turn, climbed two flights of stairs, crossed the overpass connecting the main to annex building, climbed three more flights of stairs before she got to the rooftop. Panting, she skidded to a stop and saw both shinobis standing few meters away from each other, body tensed for an attack that might decide this fight's winner. Before she could yell at them to stop, the two men lunged towards each other and Sakura was plunged back to the past where her two teammates fought.

Sakura felt like she was reliving a particular memory but this time, there were no rasengan and chidori and they were no longer boys. They were men and very powerful. Dangerously so. Worse, there was no Kakashi to stop them but that was okay, she was no longer helpless. She had grown up to. She moved to her left as fast as her feet could and with a cry, pulled back her right fist and slammed it into a water tank.

Like a raging untamed dragon, water gushed out and rained down unto the two fighting, momentarily freezing them and their snarls.

If only Sakura wasn't so pissed off, she would admired the fleeting tiny rainbow; would be amused at the men's resemblance of wild animals gotten wet or would feel scared at the glare both males were throwing at her direction, but because she was, she didn't give a damn. She became even more pissed off when the weight of her action dawned on her. She had done what no citizen especially a medic-nin should have done. What would Tsunade's reaction be?

**-SasuNaru is love-**

Sakura instinctively cringed when those burning honey-brown eyes settled upon her with disapproval. She knew Tsunade was royally pissed off judging by the latter's silence.

"I am very sorry," Sakura politely said in a loud voice while she bowed. When Tsunade remained quiet, she began her explanation while still careful not to set off her volatile master. She felt justified when the blond woman didn't hold back with her words when she harshly reprimanded the two erring men who remained stubbornly quiet. When the hokage started enumerating their punishments, she felt smug until she received one herself.

"Pardon?" she almost choke.

"You will be helping these two idiots in replacing the water tank you had damaged."

Knowing that tone of her voice well, Sakura knew she couldn't plead her case. She glared at Sasuke and Naruto who returned her glare tenfold. Why couldn't these men drop dead so she would be free from the woes they gave her?

**-SasuNaru is love-**

Thud.

Sakura glared at a piece of carrot before bringing down her kitchen knife while wishing it was somebody's body.

Thud

Oblivious to how the other occupant of her kitchen cringed at that thudding sound, she continued with her rant.

"'You will be helping these two idiots in replacing the water tank you had damaged.' I don't understand why I have to," she said, perfectly imitating Tsunade's tone and voice.

Sai had to smile at that. "Because you were the one who punctured the water reservoir." Instead of glaring at him, Sakura settled in glaring at her chopping board that was bearing the brunt of her anger. "In order to save them from blowing each other to smithereens with whatever out-of-this-world justsu they have in their sleeves," she explained. "It's not like I go destroying tanks everyday."

"She only said help," he stated matter-of-factly.

"With them around, I might as well do everything while babysitting them."

"That Sasuke-kun is causing you a lot of trouble."

She turned around and leaned against the sink. There was a small smile in her face that made her looked ethereal. Sai greedily drunk in her beauty. Sakura never failed to knock his breath out even when she was wearing apron and doing kitchen work. She looked so homely and-

"But I'm glad Sasuke came back."

With those words said with sincerity and conviction, he felt his heart broke at the same time felt an acidic and cold feeling comfortably settling in his stomach and tightening his chest.

"Really?"he said, not quite sure how to react to such statement.

"Naruto needs a closure." Was her reply after a few seconds of silence.

_Is that the only reason you have?_ He wanted to ask but decided to nod instead. He pushed his chair back and stood, surprising the kunoichi who never failed to be so cruel to his heart.

"Eh? Are my rants driving you away?" Sakura asked guiltily.

He shook his head. "I don't feel well. I'm going to rest."

Sakura immediately crossed the distance between them, wrapped an arm around Sai's shoulder, stood on her toes and pressed their foreheads together. "Your temperature is normal." Worried emerald eyes scanned the man's emotionless face.

"No need to worry. I'm just exhausted from my mission."

Sakura's eyes turned professional while she weighed his claim by looking at him quietly. Satisfied that her instincts and medical experience didn't see anything wrong, she stepped back and this time, her eyes were once more affectionate. "I'll come for you when dinner is ready."

He nodded and quietly walked away to his drawing room. He settled on the couch and let out a sigh. He decided that he was sick. No healthy man would feel this chest pain, this cold discomfort coiling in his belly. He should tell someone about these symptoms but as to who he would tell, he couldn't decide. Women, as Shikamaru claimed, always make a mountain out of an anthill while men, as most women he knew would say, showed their inferiority by downplaying every matter. Sai guessed that who to consult depended on how much trouble he wanted himself to be in and right now, he didn't want to jump into any trouble.

Perhaps these feelings' appearance after Sasuke's name was just plain coincidence but could a coincidence on the same thing happened four times? He didn't know. Maybe it would be good for him to research about coincidence before jumping into the trouble of consulting a friend. Sai smiled. That sounded like a plan. Reassured, he settled more comfortably on the couch and he closed his eyes, the feeling that the world was ending slowly disappeared like a vapor.

**-SasuNaru is love-**

"Dobe!" came that annoyed voice that made Sakura want to bash the heads of her two former teammates together. "That's not how you do it!"

"Oh yeah? Why? Do you have any experience in doing this?" an equally annoyed Naruto retorted.

"Like I need an experience to do things right."

The three men looked Sakura's general direction when they heard a crunching sound, just in time to see the pink-haired kunoichi dropping a crushed metal. With a barely controlled anger, she said, "Stop bickering, you two! I wouldn't like this task to last longer than today. Is that too much to ask?"

"Now, now, Sakura," Kakashi said before jumping down from the fence he was sitting. "Don't get too hard on these little boys."

Sasuke scowled and Naruto glared. "Who are you calling little boys?" the latter grumpily asked.

Kakashi smiled but his smile was slightly cold and threatening. "Then stop fighting and do things right unless you want more punishment." That got them working quietly just as he knew it would. Banned from using any of techniques to make this task easier, his team was stuck to do things like any ordinary citizen. Kakashi looked at the blue sky, wooing for having such students like them... all volatile in their own way.

After more arguing, threatening and throwing tantrums, the new water tank was completed and proudly standing in front of it were the three laborers with beads of sweat decorating their faces. Sakura angled her face away from the red-orange rays of the dying sun and shared a smile with Naruto.

"You did well," Kakashi said from behind them. "And since we are together, let's have dinner at Naruto's place."

"Eh? Why does it have to be at my place?"

"Because it's closest."

"We can buy groceries on our way," Sakura suggested. "I'll cook too as long as I won't wash dishes."

"Deal," Naruto nodded, making his way to the door. He paused to say, "I'll send a clone to invite Sai... after all he is part of Team Seven." And he pretended not to notice the stiffening of Sasuke's figure.

An hour and a half later, team seven seated themselves on Naruto's table. Naruto was at the head of the table, Kakashi on his right, Sai on his left, Sakura beside the silver-haired man and Sasuke in front of the kunoichi. None of the original team seven members were aware of the seating arrangement until Sai chuckled and stated in wry amusement, "So the replacement is being seated beside the traitor." Sasuke growled while the rest looked surprised.

"Sorry, Sai," Sakura immediately said, "We can trade places." She was half out of her seat when Sai shook his head. "I think Sasuke-kun and I can get along well enough not to make this dinner go awry." He didn't turn to seek the said man's agreement. "Shall we eat now?"

"We gratefully partake," all of them chorus.

"Better than the last time I had dinner here," Sai teasingly quipped, eyes on Naruto who immediately retorted, "That was quick cooking after you passionately refused to have ramen."

"I was tired of having that every time I came here."

"Tired?" Naruto rolled his eyes, "Why would someone get tired of eating ramen? Even the bastard here doesn't like ramen."

Sasuke stopped chewing, surprised that Naruto even dared to mention him in his conversation. It didn't matter that he used such rude name-calling. He brought his eyes to Naruto who looked sheepish, at least to him. A smirk slowly crept on his mouth and said, "Because ramen is unhealthy especially when taken regularly."

"That doesn't explain why you don't like ramen."

"I just said it, dobe. It is unhealthy."

"The logic of your reasoning escapes me," Naruto said, while slightly waving his chopsticks in dismissal.

"You escape me," Sasuke replied and the hidden meaning behind that simple statement was not lost to Naruto who faltered in picking his slice of meat.

Kakashi chuckled, suddenly sensing the heavy tension that was about to settle over the table. "No need to worry, Naruto. This was supposedly a secret but... Sasuke and I have been going to Ichiraku frequently. He seemed to start loving ramen. One would think that he came here for that reason."

"My reason isn't frivolous," Sasuke stated and let his eyes linger on Naruto until the latter squirmed.

"Right. You're here for a wife," Sakura said lightly. "Preferably one that comes from a clan with a bloodline limit."

"Sakura!" naruto uttered.

The lady shrugged. She had said it with a purpose of seeing for herself if Sasuke wanted Hinata just as Naruto claimed. Watching for a reaction on Sasuke's face she was oblivious to Sai studying her.

Sasuke chuckled. "So he told you of that misunderstanding but I already cleared that up. Right, Naruto?

The man in question gulped, cleared his throat and nodded. "'T was a misunderstanding," he muttered while avoiding Sasuke's eyes as well as Sakura's questioning gaze.

After that with the combined efforts of Kakashi and Sai, the conversation veered off from that topic to a more pleasant one.

After dessert, Kakashi and Sasuke moved to the living room while the remaining three cleaned up. Later on, Sai joined the two males then after awhile Sakura followed. By then, Sasuke and Kakashi were engrossed in their board game.

Kakashi chuckled and sighed. "I lost."

"You weren't serious," Sasuke retorted.

"It's a game so there's no point of getting serious."

"I'm thirsty," Sasuke said standing up. "Where's Naruto, by the way?"

"He's in the kitchen. He's almost done washing."

He nodded and turned around, pleased to have easily gotten the information he needed. He was walking towards the kitchen when he spotted his prey by the veranda.

Naruto didn't acknowledge Sasuke's presence when the man stood beside him.

"Do you like to be alone that much or are you just taking a break from me?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto snorted. "Don't be cocky."

"I'm not. That was your previous reason, remember?"

Deciding not to justify such statement with an answer he remained quiet. He stiffened when he felt a hand on the small of his back and another hand beside his on the ledge.

"Naruto," he heard Sasuke whisper quietly after he leaned towards him. "How long are we going to be like this?"

He maintained his stony silence and continued staring ahead. However despite that,his senses were focused on Sasuke - his breathing pattern, his voice, his scent, his warmth and closeness. It took a sheer effort not to lose himself amidst these.

"When are you going to welcome me home? When are you going to say you're happy to see me again?" Naruto shuddered and gulped audibly. Was Sasuke waiting for those words alone? But what for? "So that I'll now that I made the right choice... that I have a purpose here."

Naruto's heart plunged down. Sasuke hadn't changed. He was still selfish. He thought of nothing but for himself. He whipped his head around to look at his former best friend. "When are you going to tell me that you regret what you did?"

At such inquiry, Sasuke's lips pursed.

"You won't say it, will you?" Naruto knew he wouldn't because all those things he did, led to the accomplishment of his killing. It didn't matter that a lot of people ended up hurt. To him, the end justified the means. "You're such an asshole!" he spat and was about to leave when a hand gripped his wrist. He looked over his shoulder, eyes now blazing with fury.

"Running away?"

"I have no reason to do that. Fuck off, bastard!" Having said that, Naruto snatched his arm away just as Sakura came into the scene.

"Naruto? Sasuke?" she asked in confusion. She could feel the heavy and volatile tension between them. "Is there something wrong?" She addressed the blonde who shrugged his shoulders and beamed at her.

"There's always something wrong with me and this bastard."

Sakura's eyes followed Naruto as he walked away until he disappeared. When he did, she looked at Sasuke with impersonal eyes. She walked to him until there was just an five steps separating her from him.

"You love him," Sakura stated coolly. She finally realized this fact during their meal when Sasuke's eyes kept on lingering on Naruto and when he implied something with his words that made the blonde squirm and blush. Naruto's reaction was the greatest give away. She finally grasp what had been eluding her since Naruto's claim.

"I want him," Sasuke replied.

Pink eyebrows were drawn in a displeased scowl. "For that you're willing to hurt him? Destroy what he had built?" She tensed more when the man in front of her remained quiet. "What kind of a single-mindedness is that?"

"I want him."

Sakura could see determination and conviction on those eyes and once again, she was scared for Naruto. This madness that gripped Sasuke would never be good for him. She squared her shoulders and stared straight into those eyes that filled with too much madness. "I don't know what happened in that cave. Naruto never told us. All we knew was that his will to live had disappeared. I won't let you steal that will once again." She clenched her fists. "I will protect him with the strength I have even if it means I will lay down my life for him."

Sasuke straightened his form too and looked at the woman who gave him a silent warning. "Sakura," he said, his voice velvety dangerous and calm. "I will take lives for me to have him... for him."

Emerald eyes widened by miniscule but their owner's gaze never wavered. In that moment of intense eye contact, Sasuke and Sakura came into an understanding... a silent treaty. They had made themselves clear to each other and a new tension between them arose.

"Sakura," came a new voice, surprising the kunoichi. She turned around to see Sai, standing there aloofly. "Shall we go home?"

"Eh?" And a slight frown settled on the man's forehead. "Sure, let's go home." And she left without sparing Sasuke a glance.

**-SasuNaru is love-**

"I have few things I need to do before going to sleep," Sai said the moment they stepped inside their apartment. Without waiting for Sakura's reply, he walked towards his drawing room, leaving his fiancée to stare after him with hurtful eyes.

Sakura sighed. It was obvious that something had upset Sai, but as to what she had no idea... yet. She moved to their room wondering what upset her fiance. The answer came to her the moment water from the shower nozzle above her sprayed on her. She closed her eyes more from her disgust at her momentary stupidity than the discomfort caused by the water hitting her face sharply.

Today... today would have been their wedding day if not for her parents' disapproval. Their disapproval was simply based upon Sai's vague background which hindered them from seeing her lover's good personality. While she was more than ready to marry him despite being threatened to be disowned, Sai shook his head and said, '_It's not good to throw away old bonds to cement a new one. Someday they will accept me.'_ Since then, they had tried to win her parents' approval in various ways but to no avail and she wondered if their efforts were a waste. If it were, she would cry for Sai who was working twice as hard as she was.

Almost half an hour later, wisps of steam glided outside the bathroom and rose to vanish as Sakura stepped out with a towel wrapped around her body, beads of water sliding freely from the tips of her hair and disappeared into the cotton material.

She dropped the towel, letting it pool around her feet. Reaching for her pajamas, her gaze fell on the scar reflected on the full-length mirror. She straightened, clothes forgotten, then turned towards the mirror. Without taking her eyes from her reflection, she brought a hand on her stomach to trace the scar. It was the scar Tsunade couldn't get rid of with her cell regeneration technique. It was the scar of the wound Naruto had cruelly and mindlessly given her during a furious battle where he had been forced to reveal his true form and went on a bloodlust rampage when he was left unsatisfied by his strong opponent who had died too early for his taste. She had seen it all and had tried to reach out to Naruto but the bloodlust had muddled his recognition of his friends. She would have died if not for Kiba and Akamaru who drove him away from her and for Shino who had slices of aburage to calm him down.

She pressed the pad of her fingers when she remembered the blood and agonizing pain. It had been hell but she couldn't blame him. It had been her fault. In her want to save him she had been reckless. Too reckless.

She chuckled when she remembered how greedily Naruto partook those slices of aburage. She shook that amusing image from her head, hastily donned her pajamas and left for Sai's art room.

Sai didn't falter in his drawing when he felt Sakura walked in his room and stood behind him. He continued drawing a grotesque abstract piece of art with no color other than red and black - a reflection of his emotional state.

"Today would have been our wedding day and tonight, our wedding night."

He watched as one dainty hand covered his hand holding the brush.

"I'm sorry that my parents are like this," Sakura quietly continued and slowly eased out the brush from Sai's hand.

The man's jaw tensed at that statement. He couldn't decide whether her obliviousness was endearing or irritating. What pissed him off was to see his fiancée and her childhood crush staring at each other.

"It's not your fault," he said the words he knew she wanted to hear, tilted his head and placed a hand on her nape tugging her down for a quick kiss. When Sakura tried to deepen the kiss, he moved his head to the right and stood up, the chair separating them from each other. His heart tightened seeing the confusion on those emerald eyes because until now, he hadn't refused her kisses. He let out a deep sigh. "Sakura," he started, running a hand through his hair. "I don't belong to a clan; I don't have a bloodline limit and I don't have any inheritance."

Green eyes became darker with slight annoyance and intense confusion. Not once, had Sakura looked for those things in him. All she ever wanted was him and the things they got. She slight shook her head, silently telling him that she had no idea where this confession was heading to.

"I'm not **your **Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura."

The woman looked at him with shock and incredulity as if he had slapped her. In a way, he did. Sai made it sound like she mistook him for _that_ man. She gripped the back of the chair in front of her to steady herself. She never thought that a time would come when Sai would doubt her love for him. She knew that Sai wasn't Sasuke. She knew that by heart. She knew that more than anyone else. And that was why she wasn't bothered when there were talks that she went out with Sai because he looked like Sasuke. Sure, in one quick single glance, they were bound to be mistaken for each other but aside from those physical aspects, he and her dark-haired former teammate were different emotionally. Sai had his emotions stolen from him while Sasuke threw them away except for hatred to become stronger making the former a walking vacuum and the latter a raging mass of vengeance and hatred. While Sai was more than ready to learn again, Sasuke always chose solitude and loneliness together with madness. Knowing Sai was waiting for her reaction, she looked at him and asked, "Did I ever make you feel that you are?"

"You better make it clear who you want to stay forever with because you won't ever have that choice again once we are married."

Sakura scowled at the ultimatum and her grip on the chair tightened. "What made you think that I have to make a choice which isn't present in the first place? I chose you the moment I slept in your arms, idiot!"

"But that time, _he_ wasn't there. You thought he won't come back." Sai pointed out with an empty smile.

"What this got to do with Sasuke-kun?" Sakura snapped.

"You said that you're happy that he came back because Naruto-kun needed a closure, but I wonder if that is the only reason especially when I caught you staring at each other back at Naruto-kun's balcony." He didn't react when the sound of a broken wood reach his ears. For a moment, he pitied the chair. Despite the anger flaring on those beautiful eyes, Sai held his ground.

Sakura let out a dry chuckle. So everything was because of such petty misunderstanding. God! Sai was endearingly stupid. "Just so you know," she started, her voice calm but there was anger outlining it, "that is the only reason and as for that scene in the balcony, Sasuke said he wanted Naruto and he made it sound like it didn't matter what the others especially Naruto's opinion will be. He will have him." Sai just blinked at that new information as if silently saying, 'That's all there is to it?' "I warned him then that I won't let him hurt that idiot again even if I will get killed by him."

It was Sai's turn to be confused and he voiced out his confusion. "But the book says that the chances of a woman going back to her childhood love is very high and-"

"So you're still reading _that_ book? Didn't I tell you to throw away such things that are most of the time, wrong? Give them to me so I can-" She was stopped short when the man appeared right in front of her and pulled for a brain-melting kiss. She opened her mouth just in time to swallow Sai's moan and pressed her body closed to his, fitting her willowy figure against his hard body.

Sai lifted her up, bringing her to the couch and undressed her slowly while taking time to worship the creamy and soft skin that was exposed to his hungry gaze little by little.

"Sakura," he murmured when those dainty hands worked on his clothes. Looking at those eyes that were full of love and passion, Sai mentally beat himself for doubting her; for letting his insecurity get the best of him and for believing too much of those relationship books. However, there wasn't much of a time for beating himself because right now, he ached for Sakura.

He kissed the pliant body underneath him from head to toe, focusing on her erogenous spot. He toyed with her full breasts, pleased to see her nipples standing proud beneath his ardent caress. He traced the scar on her stomach with the tip of his tongue, loving to hear half-moans. He fondled her, touched at the way he made her hot and damp. He kissed her inner thighs before moving to press his mouth against her ankles. He loved her then. He loved her now. He would loved her forever.

"Sai," Sakura breathed, her hands never stopping from their exploration on his familiar chest, feeling proud how his muscles tensed beneath her not-so-innocent touches. She cradled his body between her legs and smiled when he positioned above her. 'Make me complete' were the silent words her mouth made. She drew him for a kiss and moaned in excitement when he pushed her to lie on her side, drew one of her leg against her chest before he entered her from the rear. With her fingers, she gently touched his tensed jaw.

Sai pulled away from the kiss. He wanted to watch her face while he thrust into her, filling and completing her with his heat until his eyes would shut close at the pleasure building inside him, lashing out of want for the woman writhing and asking him for more.

Sakura moaned at the onslaught of pleasure of having her G-spot being rammed over and over again. Her hold on the couch tightened and she muffled her scream when Sai's left hand went down to massage her clitoris. She breathed his name over and over again, never refusing his actions and she didn't bother to muffle all her reactions, knowing that Sai took pleasure in them. "I-I c-chose you, S-sai," she finally muttered before she let go.

Both of them quiver and moaned as wave after wave of orgasm rolled and engulfed them.

_Only you. I chose only you._

**TBC**

* * *


	5. Gone

**Disclaimer: Naruto characters belong to Kishimoto.**

**Warning: SasuNaru, OOC and unbetaed.**

* * *

**Chapter 4: Gone**

Do...do...do...do...

Haa...haa...

Teku...teku...teku...

Do...do...do...do...

Haa...haa...haa

Teku...teku...teku...teku...

The sound of walking stopped the moment Sasuke halted. He closed his eyes, ears perfectly attuned to the sounds of running and panting that echoed throughout the cave after him. He waited and a smirk that graced his face deepended as those sounds became louder and closer until it stopped.

"I finally found you, Sasuke-bastard!" He heard Naruto say and he chuckled as he turned around. What an idiot! Didn't he realize that the reason he found him was because he willed it? With an arched eyebrow, he looked at the finger pointing at him.

"What now, dobe? Are you going to say 'I'll steal you away from Orochimaru!' when he's already dead?"

"I'm gonna take you home and you have no choice!"

The columns of sunlight that filtered through the holes above them made blue eyes looked fiercer than usual and brimming with over-confidence and Sasuke seemed to be amused by all of these. "I have a choice," he replied arrogantly, "but you don't." He took one step towards his friend who out of instinct, took a step backward. "I'm gonna end our bonds, Naruto. You and I will ceased to exist to each other."

"Cut the crap, Sasuke!" Naruto snapped. He had realized after a lot of thinking that for all the reasons Sasuke used to explain his failure to cut their bonds, they were nothing but lies. It wasn't because Sasuke decided not to, but because he couldn't do it. That realization gave the blonde a boost of hope and confidence. However, that hope and confidence he had flaunted in front of those people who never believed of Sasuke coming back shattered into a million pieces when Sasuke thrust an arm through his chest and gripped his wildly beating heart. He smelled blood. He felt blood trickling from the side of his mouth. With eyes wide with surprise, he looked at Sasuke, unable to comprehend. "Why?" he whispered as more of his blood dripped to the ground.

Obsidian eyes regarded him with cool malice before their owner answered in an icy tone, "Because I can."

Naruto gasped when that hand tightened around his heart. He could feel the increase of strength and it was getting more difficult for him to breathe. He tried to get rid of those white spots that tainted his vision while trying to come into terms that his friend had once more pierced his chest with a chidori. "You can't kill me, Sasuke," he said with conviction even though he was coughing blood, staining Sasuke's pristine white kimono. "Kyuubi-"

"Dobe. That demon can't do anything with my chakra pressed against your flesh. I can control Kyuubi, Naruto." To make his point, he pushed more chakra, causing more of his blood to flow. With added cruelty, he slightly moved his hand, taking Naruto's heart with it so the veins connected to that beating organ were fully stretched.

Naruto groaned in pain and his hands went directly to Sasuke's shoulders, gripping them. "Sa...suke."

The avenging Uchiha couldn't decide if that was a plea when the blonde still looked proud despite the situation he was in. He watched in satisfaction when his victim's blinks became frequent; when the life continued leaving from that lissome body. He was certain that Naruto knew he was slowly dying.

"Come... home.," Naruto whispered slowly and brokenly. He could barely see anything now and all noise had grown distant, even his strength was evaporating. He closed his eyes when he felt Sasuke's breath against his left cheek.

"Can you imagine, Naruto," Sasuke scornfully started, "how Konoha will rejoice over your death?" He pressed closer. "I will get rid of you for them... so die, you **fucking monster**!" Mercilessly, Sasuke squeezed that beating organ slowly so that Naruto would suffer until he felt it burst within his hands.

Naruto's eyes closed and he spiralled downwards to an abyss then swallowed by the water of darkness. There was nothing but silence and it was a haven to his aching soul and his heart.

Coldly abandoned by his brother; yanked away from his most treasured bond; cruelly betrayed by his friend, Naruto let himself sink; let himself lay to rest forevermore.

_Sing a sorrowful song for me and bid me good-bye._

Naruto took a big gulp of air and coughed. Unconsciously, a hand immediately went to the part of his chest where the hole should be but found in big relief that there was none. He blinked back at the ceiling and frowned. When did he settled on the ground? Why was he lying on the ground? Then he remembered. Sasuke!

He jolted to a sitting position and scanned the area but there was no Sasuke anywhere, but he knew he had been there. That fucking asshole had put him under an illusion. It wasn't real but...

_...die, you fucking monster!_

It was real. Sasuke had shared his real opinion with him. Sasuke wasn't any different from _them_. He had been stupid to think otherwise. To him, he was just a source of amusement... a pasttime and now, he had thrown him away. Sasuke showed him how easy he could kill him. He was an idiot for believing that he couldn't.

The ground beneath him now bore wet stains, not of blood but tears as he cried.

"Hey, Naruto!" came Kiba's voice from the entrance of the cave and there were others too. Naruto closed his eyes, swallowed back his sobs and stood up.

_...die, you fucking monster!_

_I'll lay down to rest forevermore. Disturb me not._

Sasuke rolled over on his bed, his head cradled by an arm and opened his eyes, blankly looking at the darkness before him. He blinked back the tears that particular dream had summoned. It had been a long time since he had dreamt of that incident. It had been too long but the feelings envoked by it, were too intense as if it had just been seconds ago that he did such cruelty.

He had been heartless. He hadn't held back, but that was because he thought it was a must. He didn't know that he would survive his fights with those two Uchihas. Even if he knew that he would, he was uncertain if he needed Naruto back in his life but he should have known. He should have so that they were spared from this suffering.

He closed his eyes and willed himself back to sleep but it was futile. Guilt was rearing its head once more, tighetening his chest. His mouth moved to form three syllables.

Na-ru-to.

Sasuke stood up and quietly walked to door. The moment he opened it, blue eyes were on him, professionally observing him. "What do you want, Uchiha?" he heard his guard asked. He shrugged and just settled across the now frowning man. Without much thought, he returned that gaze just as cooly, causing the other male to shrug his shoulders and averted his gaze.

They were like that for few minutes before Sasuke asked, "Can I sit beside you?"

"No," was the instant reply but he stood up anyway and sat beside him. He ignored the glare thrown to his direction, leaned his head against the wall and closed his eyes.

Seeing that it was pointless to argue, Naruto huffed and closed his eyes again but the atmosphere had changed now. At least to him, it did. He should have felt threatened by this person's presence but instead he was being lulled to relax. The security and comfort that presence always made him feel when they were still young were still there and it was annoying... in a good way or good in an annoying way. He held himself upright and promised to stay awake all night, afraid that he would end up leaning against Sasuke's body.

Sasuke peered one eye open to look at Naruto whose breathing pattern had evened out half an hour ago. Boldly, he reached out one hand and in a butterfly carress, brushed few hair strands from Naruto's face. "Dobe," he sighed softly, eyes affectionate and filled with unsaid emotions. Because he couldn't resist, he slipped his left hand into the tanned hand closed to his left leg and loosely laced their fingers together. He smiled and closed his eyes with the warmth of that hand acting like a lullaby sang to him by his mother during the halycon moments of his early childhood.

Naruto let out a small moan as he stirred. He moved closer to the source of the warmth that had made his dream nice as it blanketed him. He didn't find it strange that the bundle of warmth also mirrored his action. He stayed content like that until half of his consciousness had resurfaced from sleep's embrace. He opened sleepy eyes and slightly stared above his head.

Sasuke groaned when the head next to his moved. He looked down just when the blonde gazed up. Through their laced fingers, he knew the moment when Naruto tensed up. "Naruto," he murmured calmly and there was a plea beneath the tone he used, a plea not to disrupt the comfortable silence that held them in its cradle. Unbeknownst to Sasuke, that was far from the blonde's thought as he found himself reflected on those obsidian eyes. A part of him purred at the gentle joy of waking up next to this person. He didn't feel this kind of joy until now and the novelty of it made his eyes slightly dazed. His free hand twitched to touch that face to make sure that this wasn't a dream. When Sasuke pressed their foreheads together, his eyes fluttered close. Ah They could be like this forever. Him and Sasuke in this quiet corner of the world and he would deem everything perfect just as he and Sasuke were for each other. A silent sigh went past his lips when the man brushed their lips together, unhurriedly. If only... if only...

"Rise and shining," came that melodious voice that shattered their peace and made Naruto scramble away from Sasuke. When Kakashi reached the hallway, he found Naruto a meter away from Sasuke, standing while the latter remained seated on the floor, looking at his former teammate with poorly-hidden hurt in his eyes. He smiled at them. "Naruto, your shift is over." He didn't miss the relief that washed over tanned face. He gave him a boyish wave of his hand before the blonde disappeared. He continued smiling even when Sasuke glared at him. Even without that glare, he knew he had disrupted something very important to both men.

Naruto appeared in front of his apartment door and slipped inside, back pressed against the closed door. He took a gulped and tried to calm his racing heart. Back then, he almost said those words Sasuke longed to hear and more.

"Naruto-kun? Is that you?" came a quiet voice and he looked up to find Hinata on the hallway, wearing an apron. Hinata... Hinata... He reached a hand and stumbled towards her.

"What's wrong?" she asked, seeing how shaken he was. He looked like a boy needing a comfort from an adult. She frowned worriedly when he heard Naruto chuckle. "Idiot. I missed you." She smiled and pressed their lips together. Instantly, Naruto wrapped his arms around her tight and carried her to the couch where he laid her down, his body covering hers.

She strained against him and shivered at those hands that ran along her sides before one of them slipped beneath her shirt. She could only gasp especially when that hand fondled her breast. She closed her eyes, savoring the feeling because for all the time they had made out, this was the first time Naruto was this bold. Naruto always held himself back until now and she liked it. She needed him. She wanted him to be her man; to be her husband and to be the father of her children. She shyly ran her hands on his chest, squeezed his shoulders before settling them behind him to bring their bodies closer. "Naru..." The rest were moans the moment he sucked her pulse point, but she wasn't complaning. God, it felt so good.

Naruto intensified his attack but he couldn't drown out that voice that pointed out how physically different Sasuke and Hinata were and the emotions they provoked in him. Hinata always gave him predictable feelings that made him feel relax, wonderful and all those nice things. On the other hand, there was always an adrenaline-rush with Sasuke whether it was a bloody fistfight, a verbal arguement and lately, those sweet moments that made him feel like weeping at the surreality of them all.

A groan came past her lips making him remember how Sasuke sounded in his arms back at Otogakure. He stopped his hand on her abdomen, confused whether to go southward or not. Why was he doing this? Why did he kiss Hinata in the first place? Closing his eyes, he give her a soft kiss and completely pulled away from her. He gave her a smile when she looked at his confusedly and shook his head. "I got carried away. It would be unfair in your part if we continue further." He shook his head again when she was about to protest. She didn't understand. It was unfair for her for more reasons than just the one he had silently given her.

Hinata nodded, her bangs covering her eyes that was slightly tinted with rejection. Naruto must had known she was hurt because he planted a kiss on her cheek and lovingly murmured an apology.

**-SasuNaru is love-**

Sasuke crouched down just in time to miss a side kick from Kakashi then immediately flipped back for another attack. He was panting but still regarding the smiling opponent cooly, eyes observant and calculating.

"You better give me your undivided attention, Sasuke or else I'll hand your ass to you," Kakashi said, knowing that the other male's eyes more often than not fleeted to the other side of this wide training ground where Naruto, Lee, Shino, Ino, Tenten and Shikamaru were training. Kakashi looked surprised when he heard a snort behind him. When did he-?

Sasuke cursed when the one sent flying across wasn't Kakashi but just a trunk. He was startled at the big bang coming from across the ground and curiously, he turned around to see Naruto standing alone with his sparring partner probably the victim of that bang. His eyes widened when he found arms grappling him from behind. Oh shit! However, nothing happened and he just received a pat on his right shoulder.

"Seeing that you're so interested in the fight over there and Lee is defeated, let's get you paired up with Naruto." Hearing that, he whipped around but Kakashi had already sauntered to that area and knew it was unevitable. Besides, he wanted to fight Naruto. He always wanted to fight him. He followed Kakashi who was now negotiating with the other boy.

Naruto gave Sasuke one look, assessing the latter. What the hell? Wasn't this what he wanted the moment he came home? To have a rival that would give him a long-lasting rush of exhiliration? He looked at Kakashi and nodded. Without a word, he took his leg holster and pouch, unmindful of the sudden tension emitted from his friends and few bystanders.

Kakashi gave Sasuke a smile the latter want to think as triumphant. "Just taijutsu and nothing else," he said. He nodded and went to stand in front of his opponent.

Standing face to face, eyes wary and bodies tensed, sentimentality gripped them. It had been too long since they had a spar... since they had this; since they found themselves in a very familiar territory.

Just like before, it was Naruto who charged first.

Sasuke continously stepped backward but his movement were hurried as Naruto's attacks came deliberately fast. If there was anything that Sasuke observed first about the blonde's improvements, it was his speed. God! When did he have that kind of speed? That kind of footwork that his fighter in him was left amazed. So damn good. So fucking good. Not to mention, the tactics for offense. Sasuke smiled as he twisted his whole body in the air, moving away from that swift kick delivered to him. _Let's see your defense._

Naruto felt the disruption of the air behind him and twisted around. Upon finding a smirking Sasuke, he immediately jumped back. Of course, he knew Sasuke would follow him so they ended up jumping from one place to another while having this weird chasing game. Having enough, Naruto skidded to a stop and blocked Sasuke's punch just in time and delivered one of his own. While he was distracted, the dark-haired shinobi swept a leg to the blonde's feet causing his opponent to lose balance. However, contrary to what Sasuke was expecting, Naruto blurred out and appeared few feet from him.

"Not too bad," he muttered before he lunged towards him. The first hit on Naruto had been a direct punch and made Sasuke throw an arrogant look to the now bristling blonde. Of course, he wasn't allowed to savor that moment because he was sent flying more than few meters by that powerful kick that made him gasped in pain. When he recovered, Naruto was almost in front of him, ready to deliver another attack. He quickly flipped backward, five times to put a good distance between them. When he settled on his feet and certain that he was safe for few seconds, he felt a hand gripping his neck. Next thing he knew, he was airborne again and above him was Naruto. His instincts told him that if that kick would hit him, he doubted if his rib bones would be spared. He cursed.

"Fuck!" Naruto cursed but it was too late to evade the kick coming from his side. He closed his eyes and prepared his body for the pain. He felt himself tumbled on the ground like a rolling barrel. Still blinded by the pain the impact caused, he barely saw a heel coming on the ground but managed to roll over. With a cry, he pulled Sasuke down with him and they wrestled, throwing punches and kicks in the little openings they found on each other's defense. He scowled when he saw bloody red eyes instead of obsidian but instead of complaining, he smiled. It was better.

"You're the idiot who let them have this fight?" Kakashi didn't have to look at his left to know it was Sakura.

"Sasuke was aching to have one and I bet Naruto was too. They are enjoying."

"Yeah but later on, they will kill each other!" a concerned Sakura almost snapped.

The male just shrugged his shoulders. "Then that's a closure for them." He said it indifferently but Sakura thought that Kakashi had a plan if such situation would arise and from the way things looked, it would. Naruto had just increased his speed again and she had no idea whether to worry for Naruto or be scared for Sasuke.

Both men stood in front of each other, hands pressed, palm against palm. Unable to deliver punches, they let their feet do the attack. Dust rose up with the speed their feet moved to attack and defend. Suddenly, Sasuke leaned back, taking Naruto with him and with his feet threw the blonde backwards.

Like a feline animal, a smug Naruto corrected his body so he would land on both feet. He put more weight on his feet to stop his slide on the ground. Panting, he waited for another attack to come but he couldn't feel Sasuke around him not even from above.

"Below, dobe," came the warning that was too late. One powerful attack sent him seeing stars and staggered backward, holding his jaw, Still dazed, he didn't realiz he had been thrown in the air. When he regained consciousness, it was to suffer from Sasuke's old technique – Shishi rendan. It took him few moments to stand and when he did, that primal instinct had reared its head.

Sasuke's eyes widened when Naruto disappeared in front of him, no traces whatsoever. He stepped backward when the blonde appeared in front of him. He crossed his arms in front of him, ready to block a flying punch. He did but the power of that attack sent him sliding but strangely, it didn't hurt. Of course, the pain he expected came a bit later when he stopped skidding and it wasn't just an ordinary pain. It was like having a kunai cut through his whole arms. What the hell? He didn't get it until he took two more hits.

The realization came to him when he was falling to his knees. The pain wasn't caused by the contact of Naruto's fist or his leg but the pressure as his attack cut through the air. He had to watch out.

When Naruto attacked again, he didn't bother to block it. He knew he had to watch out for the pressure but he was proven wrong when the attack sent enough pain to make him cough blood. Fucking dobe!

Naruto was alternating between those kinds of attack and Sasuke was having a hard time figuring which one. Sometimes, the blonde combined it and although he knew the assaults were coming because his eyes had gotten used to the speed, it didn't make any difference. His body didn't have the speed to counteract immediately especially when every part of his body was now aching. Panting, he glared through his sweat-ladden bangs when Naruto stopped using his almost inhumane speed and just stopped in front of him.

"It's over, bastard," was what he heard as Naruto took one step and leaned forward, one arm stretched forward and the other subjacent to the direction his right arm was pointing.

Shikamaru scowled, his body tensed as he straightened from his slackened form. "Don't tell me he will use-"

"Nine claws of the dragon," Naruto said and he ran forward with that speed again. He attacked the nine vital points of the human body at the same time. When he was done with him, it was only then the pain exploded on those points and Sasuke, defeated, fell forward.

Not wanting to lose and too proud to lose, Sasuke struggled and he grapped the blonde's right ankle. "It's not over until I say it is," he said brokenly.

Naruto frowned and took a look at him. He snatched his leg and said, "It's my call." His eyes widened when Sasuke struggled to his feet. "You can't fight anymore," he stated the obvious but Sasuke managed to stand on his feet, albeit weakly and he looked surprised and in awe.

"I'll decide that for me," Sasuke replied but Naruto had already walked away; had turned his back on him again. With a strangled cry, he lunged forward.

_Never... don't turn your back on me. Don't make me feel so lonely._

Naruto heard the battle cry and turned around, his eyes cold once more. Seeing the serious look on Sasuke's face, he decided to make it clear to the bastard that he had lost. He moved, ready to meet him halfway with his fist already pulled back. From the side, he heard a voice that sounded like Hinata's, telling him to stop but he couldn't. This was his and Sasuke's fight. Their world.

Sakura made a move then stopped.

Blue eyes widened the moment Kakashi appeared in front of Sasuke. Panic crossed on Naruto's face because he knew the distance between him and them were too short for him to completely stop and relax his mucles, but he did try anyway.

Kakashi saw Naruto's panic and was certain that Naruto couldn't stop, but he didn't move... chose not to move. He raised an arm, bracing himself for the pain and impact and he hoped... he really hoped that his arm wouldn't be broken.

In the end, the only thing Naruto managed to do was lessen the power of his attack before his fist connected against Kakashi's arm. However, his former teacher still felt the stinging pain, but didn't mind much of it. Now wasn't the time.

The silver-haired shinobi looked at the barely conscious Sasuke and said, "This fight is over." There was finality in his voice that brook no disobedience and everybody who was there knew it was over especially when he held Sasuke and nodded to Sakura. Then the three of them disappeared quietly.

**-SasuNaru is love-**

Kakashi who was cradling one bruised arm, chuckled as he looked at the beaten Sasuke and a frowning Sakura. "Getting pummeled won't help you win him, Sasuke."

Of course, the younger male just ignored him and downed two pain reliever tablets Sakura gave him and cringed at their bitterness.

The kunoichi let her green chakra surround her hands and moved to start healing his cuts and bruises. When it was over, Sakura checked him for internal injury and bleeding because ever since he had became a hanyou, Naruto was known to give more of those rather than external wounds. "Nothing is serious,"she said a later. She brought her gaze up to meet Sasuke's and said, "Sasuke-kun, I-"

"I don't want to hear your opinion, Sakura,"he said coldly. "I already made it clear to you. I want him." With that said, he went back to thinking and analyzing about the fight. How could he counteract that technique that made him think that Naruto had nine arms?

Sighing at Sasuke's stubborness, Sakura went to Kakashi's side and meaninfully looked at his arm.

"He lessened the strength, Sakura so this is just an ordinary bruise."

The kunoichi shook her head. "I still want to check it so that when Naruto asks about you, I can honestly tell him that he had nothing to worry about."

"Well, if you put it that way." And Kakashi gave his bruised arm for her inspection.

**-SasuNaru is love-**

Hinata glared at Naruto while they stood at the latter's kitchen. "No, you don't understand. I don't care if you're going to spar with Sasuke-kun, but at least, don't be too hard on him. Back then you looked like you were out for his blood."

An irritated Naruto rolled his eyes. "Fine! Take his side!"

"I'm not taking his side!" she snapped back and then softened her voice, "I'm worried about you. If you kill him, it will be you who will be sentenced to death. Why can't you be polite at him?"

Her boyfriend glared at her but when he spoke, his voice was dangerously low. "I know what you want. I know what everybody wants for me. You want a closure for me but what you don't know is his mere presence does nothing but opens unhealed wounds."

"There you have it! Those wounds-"

"No, they're not wounds," Naruto corrected himself. "They're scars and they will remain like that just like the scar on Sakura's stomach. And with him here, they throb. They fucking throb!" With that said, he slammed the glass on the kitchen table and stormed to his room, making sure to slam the door.

Hinata sighed and fought back the tears that threatened to fall at that moment. She felt helpless and lost, but she couldn't discuss matters with him when he would be like this. It would be futile just as it was futile to hold him back if he wanted Sasu- A sob went past her lips.

"Naruto-kun," came the voice from the other side of his bedroom door, but instead of answering, he just glared at it. "Let's talk about this next time, okay?" He didn't answer nor opened the door even though he knew he had hurt her. He didn't want to talk this with her. If there was one he wanted to talk with, it was Sasuke.

Sasuke.

And the image that fleeted through his mind was that of him standing even after he had his nine vital points hit. Although he-Naruto hadn't come at him full force, he should not have remained conscious. He sighed and rolled over on his bed. Now that he thought about it, maybe, just maybe, he overdid it but that was because he wanted to prove to Sasuke how far he had improved without him. He wanted him to see that he no longer needed him.

_Liar! _His inner voice said. He still needed Sasuke as twice as when he needed him when they were twelve-year-olds and the reason his invisible scars throbbed was because they knew Sasuke to be their balm. He too thought that he needed a closure with Sasuke and he would have that closure if and only if, there was a promise of a new beginning for them. However, he knew there won't be one. He had promised Hinata... Hinata who had given him a new meaning; who had been his source of strength and stability. He couldn't let her go. He didn't want to let her go. He couldn't hurt her after all the things she did for him.

Naruto buried his head against his pillow and cursed, but he knew what he should do. He should talk with Sasuke and tell him that there could never be 'them'.

_But why does it hurt so much?_

**-SasuNaru is love-**

In one of the rooms of the huge bathhouse located in the Hyuuga compound, the heavy mist that hang overhead and the silence which was broken once in a while by the sound of dripping water created an eerie setting, but this wasn't noticed by Hinata who remained unmoving in the wooden bathtub while she stared ahead. Then suddenly, those eyes gained their focus once more and Hinata dunked her head into the water. She stayed like that until her lungs burned. She tilted her head back and wiped the water from her eyes, slightly gasping.

What was she doing worrying over her recent arguement with her boyfriend? It wasn't a big deal. It was just his pig-headedness that was the cause of this and she knew they would patch up just as quickly. She knew that, but her thought on this particular arguement branched off to thoughts that centered among her, Naruto and Sasuke.

This time though, her insecurities weren't rearing their heads because she was confident that Naruto wouldn't leave her. When she imagined her married life with Naruto, the picture she saw was always clear and remained clear even when Sasuke came home. They would live in one of the houses in the Hyuuga compound; they would have children who would look either one of them and they would be happy. Very happy.

She opened her eyes once more and this time, a sad smile tainted her lips despite the breathtaking image she saw behind her eyelids.

**-SasuNaru is love-**

It was during the evening of his shift did Naruto approach Sasuke to talk with him even though the tension caused by the outcome of the spar the other day was still palpable between them.

With his arms crossed, Sasuke expectantly looked at Naruto from the chair he sat.

Naruto clenched his fists then relaxed. He had planned to say 'Thank you for your feelings but I can't return them' but his mind refused to remember the rest of the short speech he prepared last night. Saying that first line without the rest were awkward to him so he changed tactic and said frankly, "There can never be 'us'." His eyes didn't fail to notice the tensing of Sasuke's shoulders, causing him to immediately enumerate the reasons why.

"I have Hinata; I'm certain the elders want to see the next generation of Uchiha..." he paused and silently gulped when those dark eyebrows were drawn into a scowl. "... we don't know each other; we both carry the scars the other had caused; the possibility of us killing each other is too high to be ignored; we're not compatible and we, I mean, I... you." Naruto fumbled because to be honest, he had already run out of reasons the moment those obsidian eyes became orbs of menace. "I can't be with someone who belittles bonds; who abandoned his friends; who... who is like you, Sasuke. You're too full of hate; too-"

"Shut up!" Sasuke snapped. He stood up and advanced towards him while he said in an icy tone, "Don't judge me by your standards, Uzumaki." He stopped and turned towards the window to look at the hawk that had just landed.

Recognizing the hawk as a messenger, Naruto went and opened the window. He extracted the note and looked at the letters hastily written. 'Red-code emergency. Admin district.' The message was too short not to be odd and that made his heartbeat faster. He glanced at Sasuke's direction and left. He speeded past the trees and jumped from one rooftop to another, hoping that whatever trouble that was happening in the admin district could be contained. He clenched his shaking hands into fists and took a deep breath.

The sight that greeted him the moment he reached the admin district was something he never thought was possible especially with the security measures that had been implemented in the village. There was too much blood... too much corpses. He swallowed audibly and scanned the area looking for an enemy... alive or dead. Seeing none, he fled deeper into the district while taking in the scene.

All the killed shinobis looked like they had been caught surprised and looked like they were never given a chance to fight or had never had the change to fight. What kind of infiltration was this? Or was this an inside job? But who could kill all of these men without raising an alarm?

Naruto stumbled over a corpse and hit the ground. He turned around and paled.

"Kakashi-sensei?" he mumbled and crawled towards the man. He checked his pulse even though he was certain the older man was dead. With a shaking hand, he closed his visible eye and left him. As he turned around, a single tear left his right eye and became airborne.

With his heart furiously beating now and his body tensed to kill whoever did this cruelty, he reached the main administration building. Even from the gates, he could smell the familair scent of blood and death.

He wanted to run away, but his sense of professionalism reminded him that he had been summoned so he steeled himself and pushed inside. Oh, God! How he wished he had fled instead because nothing had ever prepared him to see the corpses of Shikamaru, Lee, Ino and Sai. All of them had their throat slit. He was rooted to the ground for few seconds before he remembered why he was summoned.

With shaking knees, he moved forward taking the stairs. He almost missed a step when he saw Tenten with neck twisted to an angle impossible for a living person. He closed his eyes, squeezing back the tears that threatened to fall like rain and made a mistake of turning his head away from her corpse because he ended up seeing Sakura. He couldn't hold back the soft shuddering cry that slipped past his lips to see Sakura with a kunai buried at the very center of her forehead.

_Please no more_, he quietly begged over and over again as he continued moving. Unable to bear the pain of losing someone again, he built a wall around his heart so that if he saw another corpse of someone that he held dear, he'd be just looking at that corpse of his comrade. The death would just be another tally on the casualties record. Nothing more, nothing less.

He burst through the door of the Hokage office and wasn't surprised to see Tsunade and Shizune dead. Even Tonton wasn't spared. The part of the door jamb he was gripping on shattered under his increasing fury. Who would have done this? What kind of insanity that would lead to this? Moreover, was this done by one person only? Could one person capable of doing this kind of heinous crime?

He searched around for any clue and finding none, he went to the open window. On the rooftop adjacent to the building where he was, was Jiraiya... a burnt Jiraiya. He could barely recognized him with that burn degree.

Another loss.

The wind blew towards him, carrying the scent of burnt flesh making him gag. Leaning forward and ready to empty his stomach, his gaze accidentally slid straight to a window that gave him a good view of a dead Iruka, but by then, he was numbed with the pain to mourn for his death. Naruto just owlishly stared at it as if he was unable to comprehend something as simple and constant as death.

He stepped out from the window and apathetically walked past Chouji who had a hole in his chest.

He leaped to the ground littered with corpses of other Konoha ninjas. Just like in other areas, there were no damages just corpses. Shino's head was an arm's length from his body and tanned hands itched to reunite them. Not far from Shino was Kiba, lying on his stomach and with his own blood pooling around him.

Blue eyes scanned the area, looking for a fur of white. He found it too soon, but it was stained with red. It took him a moment to realize that there were limbs sticking out from Akamaru... human

limbs... familiar human limbs. He had a good guess to whom they belonged to and although his heart screamed not to go near it, he ignored the desperate plea. He had to see. His morbidity seemed to be excited to see this blood and gore.

With an effort, he rolled Akamaru over and immediately fell on his knees beside his Hinata whose empty eyes were staring at the inky sky, unseeing and whose body had numerous deep slashes. With shaking hands, he lovingly wiped the blood from her face once...twice... thrice. He failed to register in his mind that the blood on his hands was being smeared on her pale face. He thought that he

couldn't rid of it. Frustration, impatience and desperation crumbled the icy barrier that wound around his heart, making him realized that he had lost everything; that he was alone once more and the bitterness that crushed against him made him weep.

He held her close, unmindful of the blood damping his shirt. Clutching her against his chest, he cried to the heavens with his unspeakable grief of losing his family in one night without him protecting them.

Another stem of white flower.

Another piece of candle.

Another set of incense.

Somebody should pay. Somebody had to pay for this grotesque scent; for killing the meaning of his existence; for stealing the lives of those who carried pieces of his heart, shreds of his sanity and strips of his humanity.

Naruto stiffened at the distortion of the space a meter behind him and at killing aura that would send a shinobi below his level to his knees, gasping for air.

He carefully lay Hinata down but not before pressing a kiss on her forehead. Then slowly, he turned around to regard the man who stood in the comfort of the shadows. Strangely the man's silhouette was familiar to him. He knew him or to be exact, his heart knew him. He was special to him in a way he- Naruto couldn't put a finger on.

The killing aura of the man in the shadows reached out to him again. Its hands clawing on him in what could be an act of challenge... an act of confession that he was the artist of this grotesque art. And the calmness of that murderous aura just fuelled the blonde's anger into an inferno.

Flare of red aura spiralled around Naruto's body, raising peebles and upsetting the leaves of the trees nearby and it burst the moment he lunged forward with his battle cry echoing throughout the silence.

"DIE!"

The sudden release of Naruto's chakra broke Sasuke's illusion, but the blonde hadn't realized it making him think that Sasuke was the killer. Without thought, the former slammed the latter against the wall, ready to kill.

Sasuke must had felt the danger emanating from the other male because he crashed their lips. He was counteracting harshness with gentleness as he kissed the blonde who was too surprised to move. He made sure the kiss would calm him down and when he achieved his purpose, he pulled away.

Naruto's eyes were blue once more and they were wide with worry and fear. He was obviously shaken and a part of Sasuke regretted for what he had done but he wanted the blonde to understand what it was like to lose everyone he loved just as he had at a tender age. One of his hands cupped left tanned cheek while the other brushed golden strands plastered against sweaty tanned forehead.

"It's okay," he said in a quiet voice. "It was just an illusion."

It took a while for those words to register on Naruto but when they did, he none too gently slammed his head against the dark-haired man's chest before leaning his forehead against it.

"Sasuke, you bastard," he muttered darkly but there was relief in his voice. Although comforted and strangely feeling assured that everyone was alive, he still hadn't let go of the hold he had on Sasuke's shirt.

"No matter how I wish for the massacre of my clan to be an illussion or a dream, it wasn't," he heard Sasuke say and there was pain in those hypnotizing obsidian eyes, pain he could clearly saw as he looked up. He understood that pain. Even though he hadn't lost a clan, he undestood it well because he had lost Sasuke.

"Sasuke," he muttered softly and raised a hand to tuck dark hairstrands behind an ear.

Sasuke's eyes fluttered close at the briefest contact of those fingers against his cheek. He peered through his lashes and his former friend was still looking at him with that face... with those eyes and breathing became an issue for him.

They both blinked at the same time and met each other's lips halfway for a furious kiss. Their teeth clacked together as they pressed deeper, selfishly taking what was offered and more. Neither of them paid what the other wanted as long as they satisfied their own craving.

The kiss was brief, but it left both of them panting heavily. Still heady, their mouths came together again and this time, the oral embrace was slow but nevertheless hungry and deep.

Sasuke's arms clasped around Naruto, never wanting to let him go. He pulled him flushed against his body, fusing their heat together. Naruto's hands splayed against his chest before one hand slid to his head to tangle with dark tresses. He purred at the throaty moan he drew out from his former teammate and shivered.

The waves that rose within Naruto were big and it was just so easy to let go of control and to let them washed him away to where Sasuke was standing, but he was scared and didn't want to put his heart on the line once more. He committed to memory how the man in his arms tasted and how warm he was because this would be the last time he would indulge his foolish side. He stole one last deep kiss before he pulled away.

The madness had began. The madness he had willingly created to protect his heart... to keep his promise.

Seeing the desire boldly dancing on those blue eyes, Sasuke's knees trembled. He let out a shaky sigh when the blonde leaned forward. His eyelids fell halfmast when their lips brushed oh-so-softly. He had found him. He had won. That was what Sasuke thought until...

"Hinata."

And he was plunged to darkness and hollow silence. Even though Naruto's tongue was tracing his lips wickedly, he shoved the man away causing the latter to stumble backward.

"Asshole," he spat and his angry voice didn't betray the waves of pain he felt. He wiped his lips with the back of his hand, then stiffened when he heard Naruto chuckling softly.

Naruto let out a loud sigh of disappointment and rubbed his nape before uttering, "So much for my game". He raised mischievous blue eyes for Sasuke to see.

"What?" he asked. "You thought I would kiss you without pretending that you aren't her? Dark hair, pale skin..."

Sasuke's hands clenched but he remained standing. Oddly unable to lash out. Maybe because his chest was too tight, making breathing difficult or maybe because his body was aching in a way it hadn't ever since he remembered. He clenched his eyes shut as Naruto's passion flashed through his mind vividly and wondered if that could be a lie when it had felt real. It was real, right? No passion as intense as that could be a lie, right?

As if reading his mind, the blonde eagerly nodded his head in agreement. "Yes, yes. It had been real. Lies are truth and illusions, reality until they are discovered for what they are." His smile widened. "Come now, Sasuke," he said jovially, "why be angry when you played this game on me

since we met?"

"Get out, Uzumaki," Sasuke replied coldly. "I don't want to see your face ever again."

"Too bad. I'm still on duty."

With one last glare thrown at the blonde's direction, Sasuke marched to his room and proceeded to the bathroom. Underneath the spray of water, he crumbled and cried his heartache and crushed hope. Unbeknownst to him, in another part of the house, Naruto cried while mutely murmuring an endless stream of apology.

Everything had come to an end.

**TBC**

* * *

**Author's notes: Teku teku is sound of walking. Haa Haa is sound of panting. Do do is sound of running.**


	6. Her Tears

**Standard disclaimer applies.**

**SasuNaru, OOC and unbeta-read (But I'll be happy if someone will beta-read)**

**Author's note: Sorry for the late update. Life had been very hectic.**

* * *

**Chapter 5: Her tears**

The next day, when Sasuke stepped out from his room the person that greeted him was a smiling Kakashi.

"I have some private matters I need to deal with," the younger male stated and started walking to the door.

Kakashi looked thoughtful while he tried to figure out what had happened between his former students. He was sure something did. Sasuke's puffy eyes was a give away, not to mention that he didn't see Naruto. Or to be exact the blonde didn't want to be seen- a reason why Kakashi had only felt his chakra until his shift ended. He looked at Sasuke's back and shook his head. He couldn't understand them. When they were away from each other, they self destruct and when they were together, they destroy the other.

It was madness. They were madness.

**-SasuNaru is love-**

Naruto closed his eyes as another gentle breeze swept into the left eye of the Third Hokage's statue. The breeze brought with it the scent of the earth and morning dew drops that graced the surface of the leaves and it slightly calmed his weeping heart.

He let out a shuddering sigh and continued thinking of what was ahead of him, stubbornly refusing to spare even one last look behind because he knew that what he would see was plain emptiness and he hated emptiness.

**-SasuNaru is love-**

Tsunade stared at the documents on her left hand, reread the resignation letter on her right, then perused the documents again before she stared at Kakashi and Sasuke.

"What is the meaning of this?" she asked but the question was implicitly addressed to Kakashi. She wanted to know why he or Naruto hadn't informed her of this development the second they learned of it.

Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck and gave a nervous chuckle. "Actually, I learned of this few minutes ago when he went to the village regristration office and I doubt if Naruto knew."

Tsunade focused all of her attention to the standing Uchiha. "Are you fully aware of the situation you're in?"

Sasuke nodded. "The laws governing Konoha and my current situation are very clear to me. I am a Konoha citizen not an _imprisoned_ Konoha citizen. I am doing class C and D rank missions because I am a Genin. I am being guarded round the clock to keep me on a tight leash and to make sure that

my actions aren't harmful to the village."

"You're obviously aware," Tsunade commented offhandedly.

"Since my return, I have done nothing that will be considered suspiscious. There's no reason for anyone to ban me from exercising my right to resign and transfer residence."

Of course, Tsunade was aware of that. Sasuke's actions were recorded and reported to her and reports showed him clean. "Ah yes. Reason..." she said, almost purring the last word. She linked her hands together on her desk and slightly leaned forward. "Why do you want to leave?"

"My business here is over."

She frowned. "From your hearing with the elders, I had gathered that you came here because you wanted to, not because you had some business."

"Naruto..." Sasuke said while inwardly flinching at that name. "My business with him is finished."

Both Kakashi and Tsunade scowled causing Sasuke to clarify. "I gave him a closure."

"For that you quit being Otokage?" he heard Tsunade asked incredously.

"I had no plans to remain as Otokage. I came here because I want to give him a closure as a Konoha shinobi."

Tsunade took a moment to weigh the situation and Sasuke's words before she spoke. "I have a meeting with the council today. I'll bring this matter up."

Seeing the determination on those honeybrown eyes, Sasuke knew he had said a magical word. He was confident that she would make those councillors see her point. He looked up when Tsunade said, "You have to come with me to the council building. I'm sure you'll be summoned."

"Sasuke," Kakashi said the moment Sasuke was about to follow the woman out from the room. "It's-"

"Naruto made it clear that he wants me gone." There was a cool bitterness in his voice that gave the older man an impression that he had confessed to the blonde and was rejected. "And I am respecting his wishes."

Although Kakashi pitied him, his concern was Naruto so he said, "Thank you for being considerate."

The younger shinobi just nodded. It hurt. He had nothing and noone to protect. Naruto... He clenched his hands and hardened his heart while he continued walking.

**-SasuNaru is love-**

Naruto stood and dusted his pants as he finally came to a decision. He had thought about this a lot before making up his mind. He would propose to Hinata tomorrow, the moment she would visit him after her mission and he was nervous and excited at the same time.

It took almost an hour and a half to find a ring perfect for Hinata. Coincidentally, the moment he paid for the ring was also the moment Tsunade, as permitted by the council, affixed her seal on Sasuke's request papers.

**-SasuNaru is love-**

Naruto moaned against his pillow when he remembered what he was about to do that day. Knowing that he had a lot of things to do to make everything perfect, he rolled out from his bed. He yawned and stretched his body, getting rid of the kinks that accumulated during his sleep. He almost jumped in surprise when there was a tap on his window. For a second, he thought it was Hinata then remembered that she only used windows as a means of exit or entrance during missions.

He turned and saw a messenger bird. Thinking that it was a summon or an emergency letter, he grumbled until he read the letter which informed him that his mission in guarding one Sasuke Uchiha had come to an end. Grinning, he moved to his table and tore the letter he wrote the other night requesting that he be pulled out from the mission. He tossed both letters into the trashbin and walked to the bathroom, whistling. Unbeknowst to him, two hours ago, Sasuke had left Konoha for good.

"I'm home," Hinata said with a smile the moment a grinning Naruto opened his apartment door. Strangely giddy, she threw her herself towards her boyfriend who immediately caught her. Warmth spread throughout her body when she heard him say, "Welcome home." And it was good to be home especially when Naruto kissed her with tender passion like what he was doing at that moment.

After the kiss, he held her at arm's length to check if she was injured and just to make sure, he asked her.

Hinata shook her head and added, "But I'm hungry."

Chuckling, the blonde guided her to the dining table where their brunch was served. They both took their seats and although they had eaten meals together at his house, it never occured to him until now how closely they resembled to a married couple when they were like this and it gave him another reason to look forward to their married life.

During their meal, Hinata told him of her mission without giving too much details, then she spoke about what it felt like to see Hanabi fought like the ultimate female version of a fierce Hyuuga warrior and then finally, she talked about a beautiful spot of a village they had spent a night in. Her vivid description of the place and her excitement made Naruto decide to take her there during their honeymoon. Ah yes, their honeymoon and the thought of it, made him slightly blushed.

After eating, they moved to the living room and this time, there was nervousness underlining the relax atmosphere.

"Naruto-kun," Hinata said at the same time that Naruto said, "Hinata-chan,"

They both looked at each other owlishly before insisting for the other to speak first.

"It's not something important," Naruto lied. At the moment, he was too nervous not to stutter if he were to propose to Hinata and he couldn't allow himself to ruin what should be a perfect moment for her.

Convinced, the Hyuuga heiress decided to speak first. "I love you." That statement made panic flashed through blue eyes. Naruto immediately assumed that she would propose to him. Grabbing her hands and holding them between his, he said, "I can't let you pro-"

She shook head, silently commanding him not to interrupt her. "And I would do anything for you even letting you go." She looked deeply into his eyes and calmly stated, "I'm letting you go."

"W-what?" he choked."You're dumping me?"

This time, tanned hands were encased by pale dainty ones. "Dumping is such a strong word and for me, it implies that I no longer love when in fact, I do."

"Then why?" Naruto quietly demanded while he searched answers from pale eyes.

Hinata's answer was simple and plain. "Because I want you to think without me being a burden; to selfishly think for yourself without being obliged to keep the promise you made to me and to think whether you want to be with him enough that you're willing to change his sexuality."

Naruto looked surprised at her statement. Obviously, she wasn't aware that Sasuke had already decided his sexual preference and had his sight focus solely on him. He counted himself lucky that she didn't know. God knows what she would do if she would get her hands on this information. "But I already thought about this."

"But during that time of thinking, you were still with me," she argued, her stubborness rearing its head and clashed against Naruto's stubborness.

The man bit his lower lip for few seconds while wearing a thoughtful look then grinned before cheekily saying, "There.! I thought about it and I still chose you."

Hinata couldn't help but roll her eyes, both in exasperation and frustration. "Naruto," she warned. "When I said 'think', I meant seriously... like spending a day or two pondering over this matter."

Naruto waved a hand dismissively before finally giving in to her request. "Fine. I'll think about this and then when I'll get back to you, you better get yourself ready because I won't show mercy."

The girl just nodded and beamed. As much as she wanted to say 'I know you'll come back to me', she was scared that it would cause Naruto to lie that he had thought about it when he didn't and that would defeat the purpose of this break-up of theirs. She pressed a kiss on tearful eyes before she moved towards the door. "See you around."

Naruto nodded wordlessly and when he heard the sound of the door shutting, he felt an unexplainable sense of finality, at the same time, freedom. He slumped against his couch, emotionally drained.

Despite his breakup with Hinata, the rest of his morning was relatively quiet and peaceful because he knew where his heart lay, however by late afternoon, something had changed in him. He was restless and his thoughts were churning. For the first time since he decided to propose to Hinata, he felt something akin to regret and doubt seeping into his heart. Lying to himself that he was sick, he moved to his bed.

As seconds become minutes and minutes become hours and day gave in to night, Naruto remained in his bed, staring at the ceiling. His golden brows were pulled into a dark scowl, obviously displeased at the clamorings of his heart and at himself for being so complicated. Hadn't his heart and mind agreed that they wanted to spend the rest of his life with Hinata? Hadn't his heart felt peaceful then? So why now, in the middle of the night, his thoughts kept going back to Sasuke and how those obsidian eyes became orbs of pain for what he did? Why was his heart clenching with those thoughts and aching for Sasuke instead of Hinata?

_Freedom_, both his mind and heart whispered. With Hinata gone, they now had a freedom to choose who they wanted; to chase a dream that might be more than just a dream.

_Traitors!_ He mentally and viciously screamed at the two.

_Liar! _They replied just as viciously.

Morning came and he still hadn't gotten any sleep. Not to mention that his emotional and mental state had worsen and he was still in denial. He didn't want Sasuke. He could never want a guy like him but...

_You need him._

**-SasuNaru is love-**

Sakura looked worried when she saw Hinata looking drained and distracted and wondered when she started looking like this. Had it been yesterday? No, not yesterday because she hadn't seen her. Yesterday had been the Hyuuga heiress' day off. Had she and Naruto have another quarrel?

"Hinata," she said when she settled on the seat beside her during their break.

Hinata looked up and seeing the gentle gaze Sakura had for her, she couldn't stop the tears from falling from her eyes nor could she stop herself from throwing her arms around her friend for a comfort.

"I let him go," she muttered against Sakura's chest.

Did Hinata know? Sakura doubt that she did. The only ones Sasuke spent his time with were his teammates and that the only ones who knew of his feelings for Naruto were her and Kakashi. Sakura bet Kakashi didn't tell Hinata anything and she didn't as well. Although she had wanted to tell her the moment he learned of Sasuke's feelings, she had been worried that it might cause a rift between her and Naruto but she had been wrong. If neither of them informed the Hyuuga heiress then who? Could it be Naruto? Was he aware? Even if he was, she doubt he'd tell his girlfriend about something he considered trivial. So why would Hinata break up with him then if she didn't know about Sasuke? Her hand that was soothing her friend's back paused when an idea struck her.

"Is Naruto in love with Sasuke-kun?"

"He isn't," Hinata replied and it wasn't a lie. Naruto wasn't in love with Sasuke. He loved him.

"Then why?"

"Because ever since Sasuke-kun came back, Naruto looked distracted and he had this distant look when he thought I wasn't looking at him and I thought that maybe... just maybe... he wanted to be with him so I..." Hinata paused to sniffle, "decided to give him time." Sakura pitied her. Even though Hinata didn't know about Sasuke's intentions towards Naruto, she still let him go and she wondered if it was okay to tell her now then decided quickly that her telling would probably cause the situation to worsen.

"You think he isn't happy with you?" Sakura asked with incredulity in her voice. Was Hinata blind? Couldn't she see that Naruto always wore his heart on his sleeve when she was around or when he talked about her?

"I know he's happy." She even could see his sincere smile in her daydream if they would end up getting married, but that wasn't the only thing she could see. In her daydreams, those beautiful eyes of his looked haunted and dare she say, yearning for something that lay on or beyond the horizon. That was why she was giving him a chance even if it meant losing him.

She pulled away from her pink-haired friend and said, "You must be thinking how stupid I am for letting him go. You're probably thinking that I should have fought for him."

"I don't think you're stupid but yes, I want you to fight for him," Sakura answered sincerely. "How did you break up with him?" she asked worriedly because she knew firsthand what a brokenhearted Naruto was capable of doing especially in the self-destruction department.

At that question, Hinata realized that Naruto might end up doing stupid things. Oh, dear! What had she done? "Sakura," she said, panic darkening her eyes, "he won't do anything stupid, right? After all, I explained to him and made sure he understood before I left."

"If that is the case, then I doubt that he will." And just to reassure her, Sakura added, "My shift will end ten minutes from now so I'll check on him."

The Hyuuga heiress gave her a grateful smile, completely unaware that Sakura had another reason why she decided to visit Naruto.

**-SasuNaru is love-**

Contrary to what the two kunoichi were thinking, Naruto wasn't doing anything stupid. In fact, he was still lying on his bed while being plagued by emotions that shouldn't had been there... that should had been dead a long time ago, at the same time, being burdened by the tension of the opposites.

He just blinked when he realized that somebody was knocking on his front door. _Go away_, his mouth moved to silently speak those words. He wasn't even bothered when the knocks become increasingly heavy until they became pounds and it was making his head throb.. And he just tuned off everything from then on.

_I chose Hinata_, was the mantra that he kept on repeating on his mind as a means to drove his thoughts about Sasuke.

Sakura growled when her friend didn't open the door no matter how many times and how hard she knocked. She huffed. If the idiot wanted to play a game then she would play his game. Having made up her mind, she picked the lock and let herself in, not caring if he would later accused her of not respecting his privacy. She searched for her friend in the kitchen, balcony and living room and when she didn't find him, she marched to his bedroom. She cursed when she realized that the door was locked and began knocking once more with her patience getting thinner.

Naruto snapped out from his obliviousness at the same time quickly sat up when his bedroom door splintered apart. Surprise and fear filled his eyes when he saw a furious Sakura amidst the falling slivers of his door. When his gaze accidentally met hers, he gulped.

"S-sakura?"

"Naruto," she growled as she stepped into his room. "For how long do you want me knocking on your damned door?" The male was about to speak but she continued, "I heard from Hinata."

He nodded, eyes suddenly cast down.

"It's been two days," she said, stating the obvious. She remembered Hinata's sad face and tears, causing her to clench her hands. No man ever had the right to make any woman wait. "How long are you going to make her wait? I'm not rushing you but I don't want to see Hinata like this. It is unfair on her part."

Silence.

Naruto didn't know what to say. He was confused and torn. He was tired of thinking, of feeling and of syncing his heart and mind.

What? He wanted to scream to himself. He wanted to be with Hinata, right? So why was he hesitating? Why didn't he want to step out from his house, go to her and tell her that he chose her still? What was stopping him?

_Sasuke._

What was scarying him?

_His guilt of wasting this opportunity for him and Sasuke to be together._

At his ever growing silence and cool detachment, Sakura grabbed a fistful of his shirt and slightly lifted him up from the bed. Despite the waves of anger rolling off from his friend, he looked lifeless. He didn't even react even when she started shaking him.

"What's with that look, Naruto?" Sakura snapped, hating his indecisiveness. Why couldn't Naruto realize that it wasn't only him that was being hurt? There was Hinata too and... She shook him hard. "Stop being so indecisive! If you want to be Hinata then stop making her wait, idiot!"

"What if I want Sasuke?" Naruto blurted out, raising his gaze to meet Sakura's surprised ones. He didn't meant it. It was just a moment of defiance; of wanting to make her shut up because he didn't want to hear anyone at the moment. Those words he had uttered were empty, right?

Sakura intensely gazed in his eyes, searching for all the answers to her questions. She looked momentarily shock then resigned as understanding dawned on her. She dropped him back to the bed and he watched as she moved to leave him. She paused at the doorway and said, "That's too bad, Naruto, because early yesterday morning, according to the reports, Sasuke left Konoha." She regarded him over her shoulders with sorry eyes, "For good and if I've known that you love him, I would have stop him for your sake."

"I didn't mean it, Sakura," Naruto immediately said quietly. "I don't love him. Hinata-"

The kunoichi shook her head. She had seen it – that fleeting flash on his eyes. No, Naruto meant it but he wasn't aware of it. He probably thought that he just wanted to scandalize her, to make her mad by betraying Hinata but what he didn't know was that it was his own self he was betraying and that statement a while ago was made out of sincerity. "I'll ask a genin to fix your door." With that said, she was gone.

Naruto stared at the place where his bedroom door should be, unseeing while Sakura's word echoed in his mind. He clenched his hands. Sasuke... Sasuke had left and he should be happy because that was what he wanted ever since he returned. He wanted his peace back... no, not peace because peace didn't mean just being alive. He just wanted things to be what they were before _he _came home because he was safe from betrayal. He wanted him gone and the gods finally granted his wish so why did it felt like the gods just ended up killing him?

_Sasuke..._

An unbidden sob went past his lips, breaking the suffocating silence that had settled since Sakura's departure. He didn't know what he wanted or needed. He shook his head. No, he knew what he wanted but he was scared for a lot of reasons and now, he was exhausted of pretending; of running away and of moving on when he clearly wanted to stay behind. However, it was too late, wasn't it? Sasuke had left... abandoned him again.

For a moment, Naruto looked helpless then the next, he was tensed and his blue eyes were burning with determination. What was he doing? Why cry when he could run after the bastard and tell him that he was now ready? With that in thought, he stood up and left his apartment. He jumped from one rooftop to another and because getting to the gate would take time, he leapt over the wall surrounding the whole village.

_I'll find you, bastard, and drag you back!_

**-SasuNaru is love-**

Sasuke gave a quick polite nod to the elderly male receptionist who was also the owner of the inn he was staying for his second night in this little town.

In his desire to get away from Konoha as quickly as he could, he pushed a liberal amount of chakra to his feet and within a day, he was able to cross not only the village's border but also the Fire country's. He continued moving on, allowing himself short breaks but never spending a day or

night in an inn in any town he passed by until he put a good distance between him and the country. And now that he did, he was taking his time because he hadn't yet decided where to go. Although he knew that Hanzaki would welcome him back to Otogakure, he wasn't certain that he wouldn't meet or hear about Naruto, now that an alliance between these villages had been formed. He could always start a new life at some quiet village though- an idea which he had been entertaining since the other day.

Sasuke opened his room, turned on the lights with a flick of his right pointer and froze to see a weary Naruto leaning against the window. His chest throbbed in pain again, remembering what he had lost, but his face was still emotionless and his composure intact. He moved around the room, arranging supplies he bought and ignoring the blonde. He assumed or wanted Naruto to be just an illusion that would disappear like vapor.

"Sasuke," he heard his name being murmured softly... pleadingly but he didn't stop from his task. He no longer had ears for his sweet and empty words.

Naruto silently let out a sigh and told himself that he shouldn't be discouraged by the man's treatment or that he shouldn't hit him because he was here to make things right between them.

"Just let me talk with you for a minute," he begged and waited with bated breath for his reaction but there was none. "Just a minute and I'll get out."

At those words, Sasuke stopped and turned around, all of his attention impersonally focused solely on the blonde. "Talk then get out. You have a minute," he stated in a bitingly cold tone, making Naruto inwardly cringed.

"Hinata let me go."

"So what?" Sasuke sneered. "You think it would mean something to me?"

The blonde swallowed back his immediate caustic reply and settled for, "I suppose it won't. After what I did to you." He took a deep breath and the look that dawned on his face made him older than his age. "You and I have been hurting each other since from the beginning, but I want another chance."

The other male chuckled dryly. "You came all the way here for that? Idiot! What made you think that I'd give it to you?"

What little control Naruto had on his temper snapped. He couldn't allow himself to be insulted, mocked and sneered at after spending his whole day not only in running in a speed almost impossible to a human but also tracking the bastard with whatever scent he had left behind which

was faint. He was exhausted and Sasuke was making it difficult, as if everything had been his fault. "Fine! Be that way!" he snapped. "Fuck you, asshole! You strut into my life forcing your feelings on me when I'm not ready and when I am, you're dismissing me!" Panting from his outburst, he marched towards Sasuke, crossing the distance between them which awhile ago, the other man was eyeing meaningfully.

Standing toe to toe, he glared at the man in front of him, trying to intimidate him... trying to get a reaction from him. Anything from him, dammit! When his glare didn't work, Naruto did what he was certain Sasuke liked- kissed him and he kissed him hard. He gently moved his lips against the other's while molding them. He even traced those lips with the tip of his tongue but Sasuke remained immobile and indifferent. Naruto leaned backward to look into obsidian eyes.

"Sasuke," he began with his voice quivering in desperation. "Love me as much as I do you."

Sasuke's answer was immediate, short and blunt. "I can't."

And Naruto knew the bitterness of utter defeat and of wasted opportunity. He blinked back this tears while he felt his hope which was akin to his life force leaving him. It wouldn't matter if he would die right there and then. He regretted that he ruined his only chance and wished he could turn back time. He stepped backward, away from the other male who then said, "I love you more, dumbass."

Naruto wasn't able to completely register the words but they no longer matter to him, not when Sasuke had jerked him in his arms and kissed him with an aching need he hadn't known before, making him drunk with what would be his sweetest victory in his whole life. His hard body melted against Sasuke's as he offered more and shamelessly took.

Desire surged through Sasuke's body and warred for dominance against what almost felt like a surreal happiness of finally having his dobe in his arms, willing. Oh, God! He was very willing. He let out a rich moan and gripped him tighter to prevent himself from crumbling to the ground when the said man sucked on his tongue.

_God! Naruto_, he wanted to say but his mouth was still wonderfully preoccupied with the blonde's tongue. He let his hands slid downward, cupped his firm derriere and out of hunger, tugged him close, causing their hardening flesh to come together. Both of them gasped at the friction.

Seconds later, Naruto wrenched his mouth free with a disgruntled "Oh god! Sasuke", making the other man chuckle.

Nuzzling tanned neck, Sasuke said, "Well done, dobe."

"Hm?" Naruto absent-mindedly replied, his mind still fuzzy from the stimulation he had just received.

"You passed the tests. After what you said, I needed a proof. Hell, I needed lots of them."

Naruto pursed his lips, not liking what he heard. "You're a bastard," he stated with conviction.

"We already agreed with that," the dark-haired man replied lightly. "A long time ago, mind you."

"A bastard through and through." Then Naruto pulled back to gaze at Sasuke. "But I'm glad I caught up with you." The small boyish smile the latter sent his way was so beautiful that it didn't matter to him if he was corny a moment ago.

Sasuke leaned his forehead against tanned ones and stared deeply into blue eyes. "I'm sorry you lost Hinata." While he was happy of finally having the person he loved, he never like the thought of Naruto going through the pain that comes with a break-up.

Naruto beamed before nipping Sasuke's lower lip while talking. "She let me go. It was you whom I lost."

Sasuke's gaze softened before he initiated another deep kiss, but this time, it was unhurried. After awhile, he pulled away and thumbed the blonde's swollen lips. "Why don't you take a shower first before we go downstairs and have a meal?" _Then we'll talk_ was what hung in the air but Naruto nodded.

"That sounds like a plan."

And while Naruto had no hesitation in leaving Sasuke's arms, Sasuke took his time letting the former part from him until they were standing an arm's length away with his left hand entwined with Naruto's right hand.

A golden eyebrow arched at their entwined hands in silent inquiry while his chest tightened at such warm sight.

"Not yet," was what he heard Sasuke mumble before he was pulled back for another oral intimacy where their tongues relentlessly warred for dominance and pleasure.

It took a long moment before a dazed Naruto stumbled into the shower, smiling stupidly.

Just as they agreed, they went downstairs to have a dinner and for the first time, Naruto refrained from rambling and settled with a silence that was comfortable and light. Sasuke, on the other hand, had an air of being completely relax and approachable.

Although, they didn't partake in conversation, Sasuke, once in a while, gave Naruto an affectionate gaze which the latter returned with a blinding smile. If one would bother to look under their table, they would see how their legs were pressed against each other's as if reassuring themselves that the other was there.

An hour later, they went back to Sasuke's room and talked. However, all they talked about were those times they were with each other especially what happened in the cave years ago and in Kakashi's house days ago.

Sasuke told him that everything he said back at the cave meant nothing and were just empty words to stop Naruto from chasing him because he didn't want to involve him in his battles. And while he was glad that his plan work, the emptiness he felt since then was incomparable and beyond words. With his slow kisses, he apologized to Naruto.

Naruto, on the hand, confessed that it was his fear of having his heart broken by Sasuke for the second time that he said those vicious words that night; that he choreographed that drama. Then staring straight into obsidian eyes, he apologized before cupping Sasuke's face and rained it with kisses with the dark-haired man's mouth as his last target. He thoroughly mapped out Sasuke's lips before slipping his eager tongue into his hot cavern. This time, he drank from Sasuke and took everything he could for each motion of his wet muscle. He slowly drew his tongue back and broke the kiss. Shyly looking at his beloved, he smiled. His eyes fluttered close when Sasuke took his mouth and mimicking what the dark-haired man did, just relax and let his mouth be completely ravished.

After that, a comfortable silence settled between them. They ended their conversation with a tight hug because they didn't had the courage to ask what had happened to each other when they were apart and they also didn't dwell on it. There would be a time for that just not now because their relationship, if one could call whatever they had as that, was too young and weak to handle the burdens of what they had went through.

Sometime in dawn, they had finally fallen asleep with their lips curled into faint smiles.

**-SasuNaru is love-**

"Confirmed that Naruto was seen in a nearby village and he was in a hurry," a masked ANBU kunoichi reported to Tsunade. "Awaiting for your next orders."

The hokage just waved a hand in dismissal because all she wanted to have was a confirmation of her assumption and now that she had it, she had no reason to further this sudden investigation. "Thanks for your hard work."

The kunoichi nodded and left.

Tsunade leaned back on her chair and sighed while massaging her temples, completely forgetting the other occupant of the room until-

"Tsunade-sama..."

She peered one eye open to regard a very worried Iruka before straightening herself.

"As long as he'll be back in one week we won't find him in our ANBU's bingo book," she assured him with a slight irritation in her voice. What the hell was Naruto thinking? If only he had ask her permission first or at least passed by the gates to get his name written on the records, there shouldn't have been too much trouble, but- she growled.

Iruka knew the standard procedure when it came to missing-nins: give them four days to return before sending a search and retrieval team with the orders of bringing the erring ninja within three days. If said shinobi returned regardless whether it was voluntary or not in his part, there would be an investigation on his motive. If search and retrieval mission failed, the missing ninja would be listed in the bingo book. He hoped it wouldn't come to that and most of all, he wished the council would not use this against him.

As if reading his mind, his superior said, "Assuming that Naruto will return, I won't let the council take advantage of this matter. Besides, there are some council members who I can confidently consider as his allies."

"Tsunade-sama," Iruka said and there was a pleading tone injected in his voice. "I'd like to be part of Naruto's search and retrieval party, if there will be one."

"I'll think about it," she replied, and later on, she would be saying the same thing to those who would ask to be part of the search team.

"Thank you."

**-SasuNaru is love-**

Iruka leaned against his apartment door the moment he closed it, worried and disappointment. Naruto was all he had thought about the whole day, making him more exhausted than usual.

"Welcome home," Kakashi standing along the hallway greeted him. He gave the man a half-hearted smile. "I've heard about Naruto."

Iruka nodded and stared at his lover when he asked, "If you are to choose between me and Naruto, who will you choose?"

Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled nervously. Should he lie? Was it okay-

"Don't," came the command spoken almost harshly so he answered truthfully, "Naruto."

"I would choose him over you too," the chuunin admitted truthfully. "However, I'm not expecting him to choose me above everything, but the way he threw everything in favor of Sasuke-kun..." he trailed off while his saddened eyes were pleading for the other man to understand. "I wonder if this is what parents feel when their children finds who they deemed as their partner."

Unable to stand how Iruka sounded and looked, Kakashi pounced on him. "Maybe..." he answered,"I don't know, but I feel the same."

Then they were comforting each other with kisses and touches and right there and then, they made love.

**-SasuNaru is love-**

For almost an hour now, Sasuke leisurely sat on the chair by the bed while he observed a sleeping Naruto, burning the image on his retinas how the latter looked like sandwiched between white bedsheet and a bluish blanket while golden beams of the sun spilled on the room through the windows.

A smile curled in his lips thinking that just yesterday morning, he woke up in Konoha lonely and alone in his bed and today, he woke up warm and happy with Naruto snuggled against him. And if it weren't for his gallbladder, he would have remained in the bed, basking in the warmth that tanned body was emitting.

Mischief glittered in his eyes when Naruto stirred. He stood up and leaned down on the latter. "Hey, dobe," he murmured in a low voice while a hand snaked into the blonde's yukata and started sliding down on his stomach.

Naruto purred, welcoming the touch. "It's too early, bastard."

"It's half past ten in the morning and we still have to talk."

"About?" the blonde asked while he looked at the Uchiha with half-open eyes.

"Did you have permission from the hokage?"

Naruto cursed against his pillow before replying, "Such a serious question." At the scowl on that handsome face, he added, "Fine but give me ten minutes." When Sasuke nodded, he thought he had ten minutes of peace, but he was proven wrong when he felt the man's mouth attaching on his neck while the hand that was still inside his yukata, started giving sensual caress.

"Sasuke," he growled in warning but his voice seemed to be thickening with pleasure."When I said give me ten minutes, I meant to use it to clear my mind..." he paused while he tried to get away from that sensual caress- an effort proven to be futile. "Not to let you scatter my thoughts!" But the caress continued and it was getting torrid, but it was blowing away sleep's cobwebs that settled around his mind for one thought to manifest – he wanted the man above him. "Sasuke!"

A minute later a smirking Sasuke sat back on the chair he occupied a while ago while Naruto sat at the bottom end of bed, cursing one particular bastard to hell.

"So?" the dark-haired shinobi asked. At the sheepish look that had befallen on tanned face, he knew. He sighed. "Let's go back."

"I'm not so sure I'll be welcome," Naruto stated quietly and glanced longingly at his hitaeate on the bedside table. He knew the risks he took when he jumped over Konoha's wall but despite that, he didn't realize the heaviness of what he threw for Sasuke, no, for his selfishness until now.

"I doubt it. I overhead few people referring you as the greatest weapon of Konoha. Surely, that should mean something."

If anything, Naruto winced at his statement and his eyes flashed with a different kind of sadness Sasuke would never understand. "That title is not a compliment, Sasuke." He looked and sounded resigned and that was because he had accepted the fact that to a lot of villagers, he wasn't just a tool like any Konoha shinobi but a weapon. He was always a world's apart from everyone and the more he tried to get closer, the farther he was.

And that voice made the other shinobi tensed with anger to all those who failed to see Naruto for who he was."If you won't be allowed to stay then let's stay in Otokage." Expecting his companion to shake his head, he continued, "Or if you want, let's stay at some town and become ordinary villagers. Or... or let's create a village and you can be the kage."

Oh shit! Naruto mentally cursed while his heart leap with joy at those words. How does Sasuke do it-making him happy without being conscious of his actions? he wondered.

"Dobe?"

Naruto grinned at the owner of that worried voice. "Damn, Sasuke. I want to kiss you right now but I'm hungry."

The man rolled his eyes in exasperation while wondering what the blond was thinking.

By late afternoon, both men left the little town and headed for Konoha – an option Naruto chose and Sasuke agreed to. Although they knew Naruto had only two days left before a retrieval team would be sent after him and five days before ANBU would be after his head, they weren't in a hurry. They took their time in travelling and had plenty of breaks. During these breaks, they made out, cuddled and sat side by side as if they were making up for all those times they danced around each other; those time they were busy denying and those times when they would clash under the pretense of hatred.

**-SasuNaru is love-**

While tension ran within Naruto's circle of friends especially because it was the eve of the blonde's search and retrieval team's departure, Naruto and Sasuke were watching a stage play at some town they planned to stay over night.

When the play was over, the light shower had become a heavy rain and for a moment, both men stood by the entrance, taking in the pouring water while the rest of the audiences were leaving under the safety of their umbrellas. Blue eyes looked at obsidian eyes before they were off, running under the falling rain and lightly laughing in the night.

Knowing that the receptionist of the inn they were staying won't be pleased with how wet they were, the two stealthily climbed into their room through the window. Naruto sent a cheeky smile to Sasuke whose eyes were dancing in mischief and mirth.

"Dobe," the taller man said as he reached out for Naruto's shirt. "Remove your clothes before you'll get a cold." He smiled when the said blonde just raised his arms for him to take peel off from the wet shirt from his skin. When he was done, Naruto also did the same for his shirt while teasingly saying, "It would be bad if the great Uchiha will have pnuemonia." His statement elicited a small chuckle from the man in front of him.

Accidentally, their dilated eyes met. In that one glance, they knew that what the other had said was a lie... an excuse and they knew that the other knew. They wanted to see the other naked. They wanted to touch the other without their clothes holding them back.

"Do-"

Naruto didn't let Sasuke finish as he kissed and pushed the latter on a lowboy. He immediately deepened the kiss, mapping Sasuke's wet cavern with his tongue. He grunted when those hands that suddenly gripped his hair were pulling few strands but he didn't care. He wanted Sasuke too much to care for something as small as that.

Sasuke had a mind to move his legs apart so he could pull Naruto close and feel the heat of the lust crackling between them. He moaned appreciatively when his wet pants was yanked from his overheating body and he returned the favor to Naruto. His eyes rolled with the amount of pleasure he felt of having their clothed and semi-hard erection pressing against each other. His grip tightened when Naruto thrust forward while he jerked his hips against him. "Naruto," he murmured into the kiss while wrapping his strong legs around a slim waist, wanting more. More of everything... of anything as long as it came from the dobe. Distantly, he felt himself being lifted and carried to the bed.

Naruto didn't stop his assault on the quivering body beneath it, he couldn't stop. Sasuke... Sasuke was too delicious and tempting for him to even think. All he knew was that he was intoxicated with how the man tasted; how he trembled beneath him, arrogantly demanding for more and he was giving more. God knows, he was giving more and then some more until there was nothing left for him to give... until his chest was heaving and his mind buzzing with wanting to please Sasuke with anything. His inhibitions had come undone at the slightest friction coming from their hips and then finally, disappeared at the wonderful sounds that slipped past Sasuke's heavenly mouth.

Naruto touched Sasuke by instinct and by the dictation of the lust rampaging through his veins. He trailed kisses on pale face and worked his way down. He clamped his mouth on the heaven seal, making Sasuke bucked against his hips. Oh, the pleasure! He moved to lick his left shoulder, nipping the skin before sucking, leaving another mark. He descended lower, his blunt nails softly grazing pale skin, awakening too many nerves at once. His chest heaved, the things he did to Sasuke was affecting him more, suffocating him. God, it was too much. Everything was too much and he like how his lungs burned. "Sasuke," he panted and rolled over to his side, too overwhelmed to continue. With his left pointer finger absent-mindedly trapped between his teeth, he stared at the ceiling with eyes burning with amazement at what he was feeling. His lips curled into a seductive smile when Sasuke rolled above him. His eyelids fell shut longer to be passed off as a blink when Sasuke rocked their hips together. He let out a childish chuckle.

"You're beautiful," he said and raised his left pointer to trace the bridge of Sasuke's nose then his abused lips. Sasuke slightly opened his mouth for that limb to gain entrance before slightly sucking on it. He took pride seeing how blue eyes instantly dilated. He brought one hand up to wrap around tanned left wrist and brought it against his mouth. Eyes still on Naruto's, he kissed the palm then at the pulse area, sucked on it, making the blonde let out a long moan.

"God, Naruto!" Sasuke growled before he was attacking Naruto, eating him alive and piece by piece until they were out of breath, painfully hard and ready for more. Sasuke planted kisses on tanned nape before he pressed forward, completely ruining Naruto who arched his back, in pain, in being almost torn apart and in being suddenly full that he missed the strained look on Sasuke's face because of his tightness.

"Sasuke," he muttered, his nails digging into pale skin, leaving red half-moon marks but he was melting again under his partner's ardent touches so that his pain was slowly disappearing. He let out a hearty chuckle when Sasuke started moving. It was just perfect. Everything was perfect and beautiful. He settled his hands on Sasuke's hips, helping him found the patch of nerves those pale hands had touched and simulated moments ago. "You're being impatient," he whispered against Sasuke's nape. "Hit me right."

"I can't wait," Sasuke replied back in a strained voice. "I want you or haven't you understand that yet?" He punctuated his statement with a hard thrust, ramming his length against that particular errogenous spot, causing the body beneath his to arch in a fluid motion.

Tanned hands travelled down on pale chest as Naruto took his time in answering that, savoring the streak of electricy that shot through him for every drive of Sasuke's hot rod into him. "I wouldn't be doing this with you if I haven't, would I?" And he pressed his mouth against Sasuke's, wanting, wanting everything to happen together... to be completely in sync. He encouraged the man's thrusts and rode them with all the desire that burned in him and between them. He shivered at the way the man was murmuring his name over and over again until Naruto didn't know if the name he was hearing was his or Sasuke's that was spilling from his mouth.

Their pace picked up, the fire that was licking them became an inferno that engulfed them. And they were momentarily disconnected from reality as orgasm washed over them like tidal waves.

**-SasuNaru is love-**

Sasuke let out a soft sigh as he slowly came awake and threw an arm over his eyes at the soft beam of sunlight that found its way on their bed. He turned his head and smiled, finding Naruto sitting by the windowsill. He got up, suddenly loving the condition of his body – light and totally relax and walked to stand behind him. He planted an arm against the wall as he leaned forward. "What are you doing, dobe?"

Naruto titled his head backward and smiled, "Thinking." He didn't bother to hide the shiver his body gave when he felt one pale thumb caressing his nape, just above one of the marks Sasuke gave him last night. "We should be leaving soon."

"I know," Sasuke replied, eyes distracted from the view he had of tanned chest that still carried his lovebites.

Naruto stood up and let his gaze rake Sasuke's naked form before he intruded upon the said man's personal space. He arched an eyebrow to him and said, "Kiss me." Of course, Sasuke immediately obeyed while his hands worked on Naruto's obi that held his yukata. In a second, the same yukata slid to the floor, completely disregarded.

**-SasuNaru is love-**

Sasuke's dark silhoutte tainted the perfect yellow disk as he smoothly performed three acrobatic moves in succession before landing on a tree branch just behind where Naruto landed.

"Show off." He heard the blonde said.

"Look who's talking" he shot back just before Naruto whirled around so he could leapt from one branch to another with his back to their destination. He rolled his eyes at the man's antics. Although they were two and a half hours behind their schedule, the mood they had created since the moment he woke up remained unruined.

"You're just jealous that you can't do this."

"I'm not stupid enough to stoop to your level, usuratonkachi."

"It's not stooping, bastard. It's stepping up." Naruto then leaned forward just before he passed by a tree with an overhang branch. "If you know what I mean." He waggled his eyebrows. His previous move and statement made Sasuke act rashly, doing moves he shouldn't be doing except during a fight... moves that made Naruto's heart swell in admiration and pride.

Blue eyes drank that lissome form and followed every move and when their owner was certain where Sasuke would land next, Naruto immediately increased his speed. Simultaneously, their feet touched the same branch. Sasuke turned his head towards the blonde, a smug look on his handsome face but that look gave way to surprise when he was slammed against the tree, Naruto's hard body pressing against his.

"What the-" The rest of his statement became a moan when Naruto clamped his mouth on his pulse, sucking on it. His hands immediately grabbed the blonde's shoulders strongly while his knees buckled. His eyes fluttered close at the sensations that hummed through him. Giving more access, he titled his head, directly exposing his face to the sun but he didn't care. Naruto was the one burning him, shred by shred. He gripped a fistful of blonde hair while his mouth slackened a bit to accomodate more air. God! Naruto was driving him insane.

At that moment, on that particular branch, they relished their peace once more, knowing that the moment they stepped inside Konoha, they would never be completely in control.

When Naruto pulled away, Sasuke jerked him back for a kiss... and then another kiss until it almost felt like their kisses which were alternating from gentle to rough were endless.

Almost an hour later, both men entered Konoha's border.

"They're here," Sasuke stated and just as he said, eight of Naruto's friends landed a meter from them. From the look on their faces, they were relieved to find Naruto but not pleased to find him with one Uchiha.

Shikamaru cocked his head to the left but his eyes were still on the blond shinobi. "You're so troublesome."

Kiba thought the same thing but he was a man of action rather than words. In a split of a second, he appeared in front of the Uchiha, a fist drawn back. His target immediately tensed but it wasn't him who deflected his punch. In fact, he was barely given a millisecond to swing it before a tanned hand gripped his wrist painfully.

"Don't you dare hurt him," Naruto said icily. He wasn't addressing Kiba only but all of his friends who were there. He none-too-gently shoved the brunette away, eyes wary for another attack from any of them.

Neji stepped forward and said, "What now, Naruto-kun? Are we going to fight to drag you back to the village or-"

"We're on our way to the village."

"Shall we, then? Tsunade-sama would be pleased to see you."

Naruto nodded and a small part of tension that had gripped him a while ago vanished when he felt Sasuke gently squeezed his hand in reassurance.

**-SasuNaru is love-**

Whoever said that Tsunade would be pleased to see him was a big-fat liar and an idiot who didn't know what 'pleased' mean, was what Naruto thought as he evaded the thick medical book flying to his way, rather than catch it like he used to do few seconds ago.

To punctuate her outburst which consisted of all the things Naruto did that forced her to do damage control, she threw her chair towards the two standing men. Both men jumped sideward and watched as the brown leather chair passed them by and crashed against the door. They gulped and regarded the woman who was leaning on her table, chest heaving.

"Do you want your chair back, Tsunade-sama?" Naruto asked politely. This was probably the first time that he was this so polite, it was sickening.

"No," she snapped. "What I want to know why you did such thing? You could have ask for my permission, I would have surely given it to you in a blink of an eye. Or you could have use the gates."

"I didn't have enough time. Sasuke had a good head start," Naruto answerd, his eyes asking the woman to understand his situation without asking a lot of questions because there shouldn't be questions. His action was something only hearts could ever understand.

At the mention of the other man's name, Tsunade regarded the man. "That shouldn't be the problem. He left because he had given you closure. That was reason."

Sasuke flinched when blue eyes looked at him as if their owner was hurt with his reason. But instead of accussing him, Naruto gave him a smile. Never taking his eyes from the dark-haired shinobi, he answered, "I chased him away."

"I made you chase me away, dobe," Sasuke said with gentleness lacing in his voice.

The way they looked at each other and the way their feet move to bring them to stand side by side madeTsunade feel like not only an outsider but also an intruder. She deliberately cleared her throat to get the attention of both shinobis and raised her question, "So what happens now?"

"I'll answer whatever questions the council has for me," the blonde answered bravely.

"That is given." She looked at Sasuke meaningully and said, "My question was on a personal level."

"Oh," Naruto uttered.

"I'll stay here and share whatever punishment Naruto will have," Sasuke answered nonchalantly.

"Where would you stay?"

"With me," the blond male answered immediately, surprising not only the woman but his boyfriend who with light sarcasm said, "Really now. When did you decide that for me, dobe?"

"Why? Is there any particular place you wanted to stay?"

"What do you think?"

Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. I can't read your mind."

"You're free to read it."

For the second time, Tsunade was made to feel like an outsider and intruder and she wondered if they were doing it in purpose. She made a sound of annoyance at the back of her throat, putting an end to their flirting.

"I don't care who lives where and with who," she told them and then addressed Sasuke, "Get yourself registered if you're planning to stay here." She then waved her hand dismissively. "Now, get out. You're giving me a headache."

Both men were more than happy to obey her command. Down the hallway, Sasuke pushed Naruto against the wall and captured his lips with his own. His tongue immediately snaked into the latter's hot cavern, tasting and teasing.

"That went oddly well," Naruto murmured between the light kisses they were exchanging.

"Hn." Sasuke gave the blonde's lower lip one last suck before pulling away. He grabbed one tanned arm and gave it a tug, "C'mon, we need to process my papers." And he half-dragged the smiling blonde.

**-SasuNaru is love-**

On their way to the annex building, Naruto spotted Hinata who had stepped out from another building and halted. Guilt wormed its way into his heart especially when he observed that she had lost weight. Would an apology be enough? Could they still be friends? Would she-

"Dobe," said Sasuke who followed the blonde's line of sight.

"Ne, Sasuke," Naruto said without taking his eyes off from his former girlfriend. "Is it okay if you go to the registration office alone?"

It took a moment for the other man to reply affirmatively and he swore tension left the blonde's shoulders.

Naruto gave him a fleeting grateful smile before he walked after the Hyuuga heiress.

Feeling the gaze that never strayed from her, Hinata stopped midstep and looked over her shoulder. When she saw Naruto, her eyes widened then her heart beat faster. When did he arrive?

That was what she asked him when he caught up with her.

"An hour ago," Naruto answered. "Escorted by my search and retrieval team." When he saw worry flicker in her eyes, he assured her, "There was no clash. However, my offense will go through some legal process."

Hinata nodded only while wondering if his arrival meant winning Sasuke's heart. Unbeknownst to her, her silence made Naruto more nervous. Both were aware of the awkwardness that encircled around them and wondered if the passerbys felt it too.

Getting more uncomfortable, Naruto chuckled dryly and looked around before suggesting, "Can we go to some place where we can be alone?" He lost count of the beads of sweat that trickled down his neck before Hinata finally agreed.

Hinata followed Naruto down the walkway, around the corner then to the shed near a Sakura tree.

"Hinata, about-"

The kunoichi shook her head."Naruto-kun," she started and this time she fiddled with her fingers, showing how nervous she was. "Word about our breakup got around and with your sudden disappearance... there were nasty rumors..."

"Like what?" Naruto asked tensely. "Is it about you?"

"No. It's about you. People were saying that I dumped you after realizing what you are. And with your unannounced departure, they are saying that the demon is after another demon."

The blonde leaned backward, seemingly relieved. Nasty rumors about him no longer bothered him. His life was abound with them since childhood. "I'm glad it's not about you."

"You have to understand that I have nothing to do with this."

"Of course," her former boyfriend said. "Hinata-chan would never do such things." Then he bowed. "I'm very sorry for everything... for being selfish...for not choosing..." he trailed off when she started laughing.

"It's okay. To see your eyes sparkle like this..." she gave him a smile, "I'm glad I let you go."

Naruto didn't understand why his chest throb in pain to see her smile like that as if everything was fine. "Hinata, I'm really sorry. It's not that I don't love you. I do."

"I know but I'm just not enough," she stated matter of factly. She shook her head once more to silence him. She didn't want his apology... never wanted it in the first place. All she ever wanted from him was his sincere smile and the sparkle of his eyes. She wanted him to be happy. "Now be happy because I'm resilient." She gave one real smile before excusing herself.

Naruto just watched her walk away, knowing that he had no right to go after her and he felt bad for wasting her time. Damn, he was an asshole.

Hinata didn't stop walking even though her tears fell. If anything, her pace increased. Her hands curled into fists when she saw Sasuke but instead of turning around or ignore him or bow her head, she walked on, her head held high. She regretted that she hadn't fought for Naruto and seeing the Uchiha back made her regrets twice hard to ignore. She had to remind herself over and over again that she hadn't let him go for Sasuke. She had let him go for himself and for the happiness he though was just a dream.

At the moment when Hinata and Sasuke were side by side, the latter said, "Thank you, Hinata." Her eyes widened at those words. She stopped and looked after Sasuke who had an air of indifference, but she knew he had thanked her. That wasn't her imagination.

"Hey, Sasuke!" she heard Naruto greeted him, causing her to resume walking. This time, her tears were streaming.

The girl in her wanted to throw a tantrum for losing someone she wanted to be hers forever; the lady in her cried with regret that she didn't fight for him and for what she had with him and the woman in her... the woman in her smiled at the happiness she managed to give him by letting him go.

She was happy, very happy so why was it so difficult to stop herself from crying and feeling sorry for herself?

_Please be happy now, my dearest Naruto._

**TBC**

* * *


	7. Unveiled

**Standard disclaimer applies.**

**Warning: SasuNaru, OOC and unbeta-read.**

* * *

**Chapter 6: Unveiled**

The curtains of the open window gently dance as the morning breeze blew into Naruto's bedroom, carrying with it the scent of grass dew and damp ground. However, such scent disappeared as it got swallowed by the stronger scent of sweat and sex as two bodies on the double bed were performing an intimate and sensual dance as old as time.

"Sasuke," Naruto gasped, choking the last two syllables when lust coiled tighter in his abdomen. His toes curled and dug deeper into the mattress, and his grip on the pillow where his head was on tightened.

Sasuke, in reply just grunted because his brain had lost its ability to comprehend words the moment his erection was snugly embraced by Naruto's body. He pushed deeper, loving how the ring of muscles that surrounded him tig htened as a response. He quickened and hardened his pistoning more until the writhing tanned body arched in a perfect arc, ribbons of sticky fluid shooting out and Naruto's passionate cry rocked throughout his body, making him cum.

After a short moment of furious hip movement to ride out their orgasm, Sasuke slumped against Naruto, as breathless as the latter. He nuzzled the damp blond head as a tanned arm slung over his boneless body in a loose but possessive hold.

Later on, he pulled out from Naruto who at the squelching sound such movement made, let out an embarassed snort. For a moment, he was tempted to thrust a finger into that hole but decided to sit and leaned back against the headboard with his pillow propped in between.

Naruto turned to lay on his side, prefering to remain in the warmth their lovemaking had created. A soft satiated smile graced his lips while post-coital bliss hummed through his body. He thought it was one thing to wake up hard because of a wet dream and another to wake up fully erect because of being pleasured by a horny bastard. Despite the protests and complains he made whenever Sasuke let his horniness get the better of him, which was most of the time, he was secretely pleased that his bastard was as insatiable as he was and flattered that he was being utterly desired.

He purred at the hand that was mindlessly combing through his hair and opened his eyes. Coincidentally, he saw a scar on Sasuke's right thigh which he hadn't seen before and lazily traced it with his pointer finger.

"Where did you get this?" he mumbled.

"From my fight with Madara," Sasuke replied.

Blue eyes gazed up at him. "Even though you had killed them, do you still feel so much hatred?"

The other man took his time in answering the question while regarding his lover who was looking at him affectionately and expectantly. "No," he said and shook his head twice. "Not when I'm with you."

It took a moment for such statement to settle on Naruto, but when it did, he was surprised before he blushed. To cover his embarassment, he poked the man in the stomach and said, "Very corny." He let out something akin to a shriek when in a fluid motion, Sasuke threw the blanket up in the air and trapped the former's body in his own as he hovered above him.

Naruto laid on his back, boldly returned his lover's intense gaze and loosely looped his arms around his pale shoulders. All the while, the cream-colored blanket continued falling until it settled on them, covering their bodies from head to toe.

"Dobe," Sasuke murmured, feigning irritation. However, his eyes belied the feelings that rumbled in his chest, rose up to rush past his lips.

Naruto's heart thud loudly in his chest, not in anticipation but in panic and fear. He didn't want to hear it. He slid a hand, his intent clear.

"I lo-" A tanned pointer finger cut Sasuke off. As if to make up for his rudeness, Naruto pushed himself up for a kiss but his lover, having enough pushed him back to bed.

"What is wrong?" he demanded, eyes full of hurt, confusion and anger.

"Please, Sasuke," Naruto replied, not wanting to discuss this matter. He wasn't ready. He could never be ready. Having his best friend know that he was a jinchuuriki and telling his bestfriend who was now his lover that he was a hanyou were two different things. Completely so and he had no assurance that Sasuke would be okay for what he was. He was too insecure and scared to see beyond his fear.

"Please what?" the other man growled while he pushed the blonde harder against the mattress."You don't want me to say it?"

Naruto had to break their eye contact when dark eyes glinted with pain but that look didn't stop him from answering, "No." It wasn't a lie. He didn't want it, not when he still didn't know what he was even though they had been together for two months now.

While Sasuke not being told by his friends who already accepted him was understandable because they expected Naruto to do it, Naruto thought that it was strange that Sasuke had not been informed about his merging by the villagers or other shinobi especially when they could freely talk about it.

"Bullshit," Sasuke snapped, using his anger to cover his pain. "You say your feelings freely so why can't I do the same?" he demanded but blue eyes were withdrawn and guarded now, indicating that the discussion was over. The magical and wonderful feeling that had hovered a minute or two ago was completely gone. Sasuke swept the blanket aside in a sharp movement and sat on the side of the bed, thrusting his legs into his pants.

In the tensed silence in their room, the furious and urgent knocking on their front door came louder than usual. Sasuke stood up and left to answer the door without saying anything. He completely missed how sorrowful Naruto's face became or how shaky the blonde's right hand as it gripped his armlet.

Whatever Sasuke expected to see when he answered the door, a teary-eyed Sakura wasn't one of them. The funny thing was, the woman was smiling through her unshed tears. Before he could say anything, she was looking past him.

"Sakura?" came Naruto's voice from behind.

Sakura took one big step with the intention of flinging herself to her blond friend but upon realizing that her said friend and his lover where half-naked not to mention that there were fresh hickeys on

their chest, she changed her mind. She stopped an arm's length away from Naruto who was indiscreetly staring at her neck, making her blush and making her want to bring a hand to cover the lovebite Sai had lovingly put on her an hour and a half ago.

"I'll cook breakfast after taking a shower," Sasuke said while closing the front door. He gave the blonde a meaningful look before walking back to their mood.

Sakura smiled at Naruto and teasingly quipped, "Even this early, he's wearing his heart on his sleeve." She expected Naruto to give his usual come back of 'That's my heart he's wearing' at such comment but instead, he just remained quiet and eeriely thoughtful.

"Is there something wrong?"

"Nothing, Sakura-chan," he replied while running a hand through his hair, obviously perplexed. "Nothing that I can't handle." _I hope_. He shrugged his shoulders and inquired, "Why the tearful eyes?"

Instantly, green eyes sparkled like emerald jems. "I'm getting married!" she announced ecstatically.

Naruto blinked owlishly. That was an old news. Everybody knew Sakura was getting married and married months ago if not for her father's stubborness. Blue eyes widened when understanding dawned on him belatedly. "Don't tell-"

His friend nodded.

"Dad dropped by while we're having breakfast, and on the living room, he bowed and told Sai to take care of me." Sakura would never forget the look of surprise on Sai's face or her mother's smile or her father's warm embrace when she threw herself at him in relief, joy and gratitude. It had been the best morning in her young life.

"I'm glad your wait is over." He said and gave her a warm smile that made her heart flutter. "So when?"

"Two months from now," Sakura answered before informing him of her plans which he was certain would change during her discussion with her female friends, but he listened anyway while his mind drifted to the engagement party he and the rest of her friends were preparing.

Almost ten minutes later, Naruto stood by his front door and watched Sakura leave after he returned her wave until she had completely disappeared from his view.

Whistling softly, he went to the kitchen and poured himself a glass of water. It was when he had emptied the glass that darkness descended on him without preamble. When he came to his senses, he found himself lying on the floor and beside him were shards of the broken glass.

He swore under his breath and ignoring the throbbing at the back of his head, rolled to his feet upon hearing his lover leaving their room.

"Dobe?" Sasuke said from the doorway and didn't miss how Naruto almost jumped to his feet. "I heard a crashing sound."

Naruto mentally cursed and sheepishly said, "The glass I was holding slipped from my hand."

Although Sasuke was relieved, his instincts told him that something went wrong... was wrong. He donned his shirt before restating, "I heard a crash and a thud."

"Blame that to my clumsiness." The blonde slightly leaned back when Sasuke intruded his personal space, eyes glinting in sharp observation. He knew Sasuke was doubting him but let the matter slide because calling the man on that would give Sasuke a chance to discuss matters he didn't want to be discussed. He licked his lips and said huskily, "Kiss me."

His dark-haired lover seemed to hesitate for few seconds before giving him what he wanted. When it was over, the former let him walked away from him without so much as a word.

Day by day, Sasuke did his best to break through the wall Naruto had built... the same wall that got thicker and thicker at his persistence until one day, he stopped asking, worrying and reaching out. When that happened, a gap settled between them together with a silence that both relieved and scared Naruto.

**-SasuNaru is love-**

Naruto fell to the ground on fours, panting heavily more from the pain than the intensity of his training. His fingers dugged into the ground. It had come but he couldn't-

"Troublesome," he heard that lazy voice said and looked up just as its owner hunched in front of him.

"So it's time for that again," Shikamaru stated offhandedly. He looked nonplussed when red-orange chakra started emitting from one tanned hand, like steam rising from a hot drink. He had seen worse than that. He could never forget the first time this unpredictable situation happened. That was the only time tears streamed down on his cheeks at the raw panic that had gripped him. He leaned back slightly when the space around his friend started distorting at his body heat. "Naruto," he murmured. "Shouldn't you be at that place?"

"Engagement party," Naruto managed to say in a strained voice. "Can't miss it."

The other man knew how active Naruto had been in the preparation of the engagement party he and others planned to give to Sakura and Sai. He also knew how much Sakura wanted him to be there, but- "I don't think she'll be happy to have you like this."

"I have this under control," he assured through gritted teeth. He clenched his eyes shut, forcing his excessive chakra to focus on the pendant of Tsunade's necklace. The blue gem started dowsing as it stored more chakra.

Shikamaru wondered how much more the pendant could stand before it would shatter under its owner's chakra and how much more could Naruto's body stand of its overuse. He could only stare at his friend when he had calmed his restless chakra.

"I told you," Naruto said.

"You're such a troublesome guy."

The blonde rolled his eyes and just when his lazy friend stood up, the ground under his feet collapsed while his knees gave way and both men knew he had reached his limit.

**-SasuNaru is love-**

By ten in the evening, the engagement was in full swing with the engaged couple having made their rounds to welcome their guests. Peals of laughter covered one after another as if fighting for dominance while voices reached to crescendo.

Sakura stumbled into the balcony and took a seat beside Sai. "What are you guys talking about?" she asked.

"Betting whether Ino will be next," Kiba answered. He took a swig of his drink only to find it empty. He made to reach the closest bottle but Naruto grabbed it.

"It's mine," the blonde stated.

"Perhaps Kiba-kun here wants to kiss Sasuke-kun indirectly," Lee stated.

Sasuke ignored the statement seeing it to be mundane and unimportant to demand a reaction from him. Kiba, on the other hand, made gagging sounds.

"C'mon, bastard," Naruto said, standing up and addressing his lover. "Let's get more beer."

"Let Kiba get it."

"For everyone." Ignoring the glare, he dragged the man to the room where beverages were stored for the party.

With mischievous blue eyes, he said, "We could give them a stronger drink. Imagine their hungover."

Sasuke just looked at him with no reaction.

Partypooper."

"Hn."

Huffing at that smirk, the blonde started picking the bottles and passed it to Sasuke. Without warning, his muscles relaxed and his eyes widened when he felt the bottle slipping from his hand in a slow motion. He expected it to crash... waiting for that inevitable sound but it didn't came.

"Clumsy," he heard Sasuke muttered almost in that mocking voice and he didn't have to look to know his lover had caught the bottle.

Sasuke's eyebrows furrowed upon noticing how flushed Naruto's face was. Did he drink that much? Was he drunk? At a closer inspection he concluded that no, the dobe wasn't drunk. The flush was akin to that of a fever.

"Dobe?" He growled when he was slammed against the wall and his question was swallowed by Naruto's hot mouth. His eyes slid shut at the sensation of feeling such overwhelming passion from the said man. It had been awhile since he tasted this passion of his. He moaned out his pleasure

and burrowing his fingers into the mop of blond hair, slanted Naruto's head so he could have more.

They broke their kiss lanquidly, while teasing the other with a flick of their tongue or with a suck on their partner's bottom lip.

"I'll be back," Naruto muttered, his reddish eyes gazing at his beloved and then he disappeared with a resounding poof.

It took a while for Sasuke's mind to identify what that sound was- the telltale sign that a clone had been released. That thought alone led him to realize that the Naruto he had drink with back at that room and kissed awhile ago was a clone. Angry, confused and feeling betrayed, he tried to guess at what time the blonde switch with his clone. It certainly couldn't be during the party or on their way to the party because they had been together. His brows furrowed as a pressing issue was raised by his mind. Why would Naruto have his clone attend an event which was important to him? He had no idea just as he had no idea what Naruto was hiding but it wouldn't be like this for a long time. He would demand answers and explanations and for that he had to find his idiot.

"Where's Naruto?" Neji asked Sasuke who was anxious to leave.

"That's what I'd like to find out," was the reply icily given causing the Hyuuga male to arch an eyebrow. His gaze accidentally fell on Shikamaru and Sakura who were having a very quiet conversation at one corner of the room. One look at Shikamaru's scowl and Sakura's poorly-concealed worry and he knew where he could find his answers.

At the training ground he frequented since his return, Sasuke drew blood from both of his thumbs and performed a summoning technique. Addressing his summoned snakes, he ordered, "Find Naruto." At that, the snakes slithered away to find their master's errant lover.

**-SasuNaru is love-**

Two of the ferocious carnivorous animals living in area sniffed the air and broke into a run towards to their left where the scent of their would-be food came. They leapt over rocks, passed through few bushes before reaching the clearing and skidded to a stop. Their tails which stood awhile ago went limp and they whimpered. Like any other animals, they quietly backed away before fleeing for safety. And the area was once more absent of movements and life except for Naruto who had stopped minding the effect his chakra had on these animals... the same chakra he channeled to the ground or that burst from him that never failed to make animals flee farther.

Not far from him, lying on a boulder was his power limiter, eerily glinting under the moonlight. Placed against the same boulder was his knapsack with half of its contents- few scrolls, a book and food scattered around it.

While tension was thick around his area, a relaxed Naruto lay on his back. Although he was certain that Sasuke would confront him after he failed to maintain his clone, he was such in a good mood to be bothered because he was unrestrained. To him, that time of confrontation was too far.

Naruto sighed in comfort. No matter how much he hated his true form, nothing still beat the relaxation he felt when his power limiter was removed from him. With that accessory taken off, breathing became easier and he didn't have to worry about his chakra rolling like waves or keeping under control what the power limiter couldn't suppress and his pendant couldn't negate. Being in his true form was very convenient - a thought he accepted as a fact since his first attack.

The first time this happened was half a year since his merging and he was on his way home from a three-man cell mission with Shikamaru and Chouji. All he remembered that time was his left foot brushing against a tree branch before passing out. His two companions, on the other hand, remembered everything as vividly as when it occurred.

_Chouji was behind Naruto when all of sudden, the latter had disappeared from his line of sight. Slightly tilting his gaze downward, his eyes widened seeing his blond comrade outlined in red while imitating a leaf's fall. Without any hesitation, he moved to save him while calling out the attention of their leader._

_At his teammate's urgent tone, Shikamaru looked over his shoulder just in time to see Naruto completely engulfed what he first thought to be a fire especially when Chouji who had caught him a second ago, dropped him as the red flame singed his skin. He quickly summoned the surrounding shadows to bind the free-falling blonde but even he had a difficulty. The shadows wavered then few seconds later, despite his concentration, broke. They could only watched in horror while Naruto continued falling like a shooting star and slammed to the ground, creating a crater._

_The two leapt from one branch to another as they descended to where the unconscious Naruto was. What negating and unharmful sealing techniques they knew, they used but it only worsened the case. Having no other options, Shikamaru had no choice but to send for a team of medic-nin or for Tsunade, if she was available. The wait then had been gruelling as they could only watch as the fierce chakra continued to rage and burned Naruto's skin._

_It had been like an eternity before Tsunade arrived and Shikamaru didn't know that he had cried until Chouji slapped him on his back and squeezed his shoulder - an act of assurance._

_Tsunade looked lost and helpless too as she found out that it was impossible to approach Naruto. Fortunately, the blond shinobi gained consciousness. "Too tight," was all he said before unclasping his armlet._

_They all watched as his chakra frighteningly rose up to the sky like a luminous bands of red and orange light and seconds later, returned to normal, as if nothing wrong had happened. Even Naruto who they expected to be gasping acted as if he was all right. Results of the immediate check-up Tsunade performed on him showed that he was fine but further investigation on Naruto once he returned to Konoha, proved that the armlet was causing strain on his body as it constantly suppressed his chakra. From there, it didn't take a genius to say that Naruto's body had reached its limit and as an act of self-preservation, released all the pent-up chakra despite the presence of the armlet._

_Despite knowing the risk, Naruto insisted to wear the armlet. He couldn't walk along the Konoha streets in his true form and nobody believed for a second that the villagers or the councils would let him do so. However, the council had insisted for him to use the Forest of Death whenever he would have his attack – as they rudely coined it. Instead of protesting, Naruto just nodded knowing that it was a preventive measure for him not to harm the villagers when things would get worse. What was worse than having irregular chakra discharge?_

**-SasuNaru is love-**

Villagers – civilians and shinobi alike, stepped aside to let Sasuke, who was emitting dark aura, passed by and stared after him, wondering who was the poor soul that provoke him to such anger. While they quailed even from a distance, Tsunade looked nonplussed as she regarded the angry man in her office.

"How can I help you?" Tsunade asked sarcastically – an effect from her hangover.

"Naruto. I want to know where he is," Sasuke stated in a coolly controlled anger.

"Have you misplaced your lover?"

"I can't find him and at the party last night, the Naruto I was with was a clone." When that didn't surprise the woman in front of him, Sasuke was certain that she knew. "What is going on?" he demanded.

"Nothing than the usual," Tsunade answered vaguely which made one elegant black eyebrow to twitch. "He'll be back as quietly as he disappeared."

"What do you mean by that?"

"This discussion is over, Uchiha."

Sasuke was about to protest but one snake slithered up along his left leg, making its presence known at the same time, rudely interrupting his master. Tsunade immediately warily looked at the snake while her hands tensed.

"Sorry for making Sasuke-sama wait," the snake hissed. He eyed the blond woman before saying, "Your bidding had been done."

Sasuke nodded and looked at his superior with triumph glinting in his eyes. "Of course. Our discussion is over. Please excuse me, hokage-sama." With that said, he left hurriedly that he didn't hear Tsunade cursing and demanding to have Sakura in her office at once.

"Where is he?" Sasuke demanded.

"His scent vanishes at the forest."

"Which forest?"

The snake seemed to falter, causing its master to scowl. "I don't know the name. From here, it's ten degrees north and four degrees west. The forest reeks of blood, death, malice and danger. I didn't attempt to enter."

"It doesn't matter," Sasuke said and with a nod, dismissed the snake. Without further ado, he followed the direction he had been given. Minutes later, he found himself standing in front of an area surrounded with barbed wires where placards with 'Danger' and 'Keep out!' written on it in bold and red paint were plastered. Nailed on a huge tree was another placard with text that read '44th battle training zone – Forest of death'. He blinked owlishly. He had heard of this place... had been in this place a long time ago. Why was Naruto here? What was he doing here? Was the information his summon gave him correct?

Sasuke was so deep into his thoughts that he almost jumped when a female voice called out his name. He turned around and scowled. "Sakura," he stated in an annoyed voice. Had he been followed? He doubted it. He would have known if he was being followed. Was this just a conincidence then? He doubted it. Sakura, he assumed, wouldn't be here without a reason. Had she been asked by Tsunade? If that was the case, then Tsunade knew. Sakura probably knew too. Perhaps, all of Naruto's friends knew. Of what? He had no idea but he was sick of being left in the dark. "You can't stop me from going in, Sakura," he told her.

There was a sympathy in her voice when the kunoichi answered, "I won't because you can't go in, Sasuke-kun."

"What do you mean I can't go in?"

"There's a barrier surrounding the place every time Naruto's there. Nothing gets in and nothing gets out. Even if you will try breaking it, your efforts will be futile."

Sasuke studied the area again. "Why would he be inside that place? Training? Or is it something to do with what he's keeping from me... what you guys are keeping from me?"

Emerald eyes looked away at the accusatory gaze. "It's complicated and only Naruto has the right to tell you."

"Bullshit!"

"It wouldn't be if only you didn't leave him!" Sakura snapped. It was a low blow but the man was pushing her buttons the wrong way. "We know because we were there." The man hung his head whether it was out of shame or something else, she didn't know.

"So it all comes down on who was there for Naruto at that time, eh?" Sasuke asked ominously, causing the kunoichi to step back.

"Knowing him, he would tell you."

"No, Sakura. He won't. I've been waiting too long for him to tell me. If what you say is true about this barrier to be impenetratable then I'll wait but you better make sure you have an avaiable bed or two at the hospital when I'm done with him." Having said that, he disppeared from her sight. Sakura sighed and pressed a hand against her chest. Dammit! Sasuke and Naruto were the epitome of trouble.

**-SasuNaru is love-**

Just as he told Sakura, Sasuke waited and was waiting with his mood getting more sour every passing day that Naruto didn't come home and the dragging hours didn't help matters.

He couldn't understand why something that felt so right with Naruto went wrong or why their second chance... their reality was abound of Naruto's secrets or were they lies? His heart clenched painfully. Was Naruto still playing their old game? His heart dropped to his stomach. There was no way his dobe would do that, right? Especially not right after the trouble he underwent chasing after him; after being restricted to do only mission within the village for a month as a punishment for leaving without permission; after the rumors that involved them and most especially, after their frequent passionate embrace.

Dammit! How miserable could he get for Naruto?

**-SasuNaru is love-**

In a split second, Sasuke put all the wretched emotion he felt in his punch he sent flying to Naruto who had just stepped inside their apartment after eleven days of being gone.

"Fuck!" Naruto managed to spat out before shaking his head to rid of spots he was seeing. Before he could recover, Sasuke slammed him against the wall, kneed him in the stomach, threw him to the floor and pinned him there.

"Tell me," Sasuke whispered hotly into his ear in a demanding voice. "Or I'll beat you up!" Despite his threat, his onyx eyes were pleading, once more reaching out. Once more trying.

"Fine," Naruto replied and there was resignation in his voice. These past three days, he had been thinking and he finally realized how unfair it was for Sasuke to be kept in the dark. He had made up his mind to tell him and had found courage to do so. Let Sasuke decide if he wanted to stay with him after his confession. He pushed his lover from him and stood at the end of the room. "Don't come any closer!" he told Sasuke who moved to follow him. He kept his eyes trained on the man while he took off his power limiter.

On instinct, Sasuke brought an arm to cover his face at the sudden pressure and steam-like fog that filled between him and Naruto. For a fleeting moment, he thought Naruto used a smoke screen to escape but the mass of barely controlled ominous chakra he felt told him otherwise.

While the mist disappeared, the uncomfortable pressure was still there, almost choking him. When he opened his eyes, the sight that greeted him stupefied him. "N-naruto?" he asked because a huge part of him couldn't believe the change. It was just too much.

"The one and only," the being replied in a very deep voice.

"Wha- Why? When? How?" he asked while he took in the hair, the fangs, the malice.

Naruto's courage faltered but he had already made a promise. "I'm a chimera since I was born."

Sasuke nodded, telling the blonde that he knew what a chimera was. When one was in the company of Orochimaru and Kabuto, it was impossible not to know scientific especially genetic jargons.

"Two years ago, when the seal reached its limit, Kyuubi was free. Exposure to his unrestrained chakra damage my cells and killed me."

Sasuke gaped. Naruto had died? Then how-

"My other set reacted hostily to Kyuubi, went as far of absorbing him to replace my damage cells and this is the product- a hanyou." He ended his short explanation by sweeping his arms wide to show himself in a mocking manner. His eyes narrowed, "I'm not a jinchuuriki anymore." He stared down at the bastard, challenging him to say something... to tell him that he loved him still.

Unfortunately, the challenge went unnoticed by Sasuke who was engrossed with his thoughts. He was feeling too many emotions at once with relief as the primary one but there was no disgust. Things were finally making sense and he finally understood why Naruto refused to take off his armlet.

"Why the clone at Sakura's party? What were you doing in the Forest of Death?"

"As you probably figured it out, my armlet is a power limiter and suppreses my chakra. Too much suppression strains my body in such a way that chakra would pour out from every single pore. I need to release this huge amount of unused chakra or I'll implode. I do that there which won't cause any harm to the village. This case is unpredictable and so is the interval between them. The longest had been six months and shortest, one and a half months." He looked down, nervous, worried and scared for Sasuke's decision. If he opted to throw him away which Naruto assumed was what would happen then that was the end for him.

Hearing a ripping sound, Naruto looked up just in time to see Sasuke's wings pushed past his shirt.

Sasuke who was in his maximum mode of his cursed seal then said, "Like I said, you're not the only one who's different, usuratonkachi."

_You're not the only one who is special._

Naruto blinked at him owlishly.

"If you're a demon, what does that make me, dumbass? Although this seal have to be activated by my chakra, my cells are mutated to accomodate the effects of the seal."

Was Sasuke saying what he thought he was saying? "Then, you won't?"

The dark-haired man rolled his eyes. "Why would I? Why should I? You're still the Naruto I know."

Hope flared in golden eyes. "Really? Is it really okay?"

"More than okay," was Sasuke's affectionate reply, melting Naruto's heart. Their gazes met while relief vanquished whatever fear they had and their hearts became calm and certain once more.

"Change back to your human form," Sasuke told Naruto.

"Huh? Why? You said it was fine."

Sasuke sighed in exasperatinn. "I can't kiss you in this kind of height difference."

Naruto chortled and regarded their height difference. His bastard was right. "Then use your wings unless they're nothing but useless accesories," he replied teasingly.

"Sorry to disappoint you but they are usuable. I want to kiss you with my feet on the ground."

The blonde chuckled but gave into his lover's request. Even before they had completely turned back to their human form, Sasuke already had their hungry mouths pressed together.

Pulling away, Sasuke yanked Naruto's head back, stared down at him with eyes as glazed and half-mast as Naruto's. He slightly swiped his tongue to break the string of saliva that connected their mouths and said, "Such an idiot... worrying over nothing."

"Shut up. I just don't want to lose you."Naruto explained while running his hands on the other man's clothed chest.

"Never."

"I know that now." He pressed their mouths together. Their tongues immediately surged forward to battle and plunder. On the way to their bedroom, they attacked each other's clothes, ripping them away from the body they desire and would desire forever.

Both of them thought that it was like making love for the first time. There were no insecurities, doubts, hard feelings or such. There was just this enormous feeling of wanting to touch and be touched... the desire to embrace and be embraced... the need to burn and be burned. It was maddening.

Sasuke licked his lips at the tanned body laid out in front of his eyes and felt his libido roar in hunger. With that seductive smile Naruto was giving him, he attacked his banquet voraciously.

He greedily licked his way downwards, eagerly toying with nipples that stood proud and erect under his ministrations, excitedly leaving marks anywhere he pleased and his rewards were Naruto moans and reaction and they were enough... more than enough.

Naruto clenched his eyes shut, his face distorted with fevered lust the moment Sasuke's hot breath fanned his erection. In response, he spread his legs wider and raised his hips. He let out a dark moan when he felt a slick and cold finger enter his overheating body. "Sasuke..."

While Sasuke had his fingers stretched Naruto, he nuzzled his inner thighs, appreciating their smoothness and tainting it with his marks. He moved to scatter kisses on his erection, causing Naruto to raise his hips, demanding. Sasuke moved downward to attack Naruto's perenium with his tongue... teasing him... persistently pushing him over the edge. This time, his fingers were no longer stretching him but pistonining in and out from him, imitating what would happen very soon.

"Sasuke," Naruto murmured,while shaking his head like a madman. Everything was too much yet he wanted more... more heat...more of Sasuke's mouth, tongue and fingers. He wanted Sasuke inside him, hot, slick and hard.

At the cry that slipped past his dobe's lips that warned him how close he was, Sasuke stopped all sensual attack and gripped the base of the erection in front of him, causing the said dobe to curse and whimper. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, making Naruto's hardened length twitch as a reaction. He smirked. "Hey," he said and the blonde immediately nodded, understanding what was being asked from him. Naruto turned to lay on his side, knowing that both he and Sasuke wanted their union to be slow and long. He covered the pale hand that supported one leg against his chest and shivered when Sasuke's wet tip poke his entrance. "Sasuke..."

Sasuke just grunted, sucked one earlobe before pushing into that tight body, burying himself home. "Naruto," he sighed, and tugged the other man's chin for an open-mouthed kiss. A tanned arm reached behind to wrap around his neck, while its fingers buried into his dark-hair as he started moving, slowly, inexorably. It felt good to be inside his dobe... too incredibly good he could feel tears stinging his eyes. He pushed deeper... pressed their bodies closer.

And they were rising into dizzying heights that left them panting and straining towards each other.

Naruto mirrored his movements, creating more friction, taking all the sensations that burned between them like an inferno. Both of them could feel the spring that coiled inside their abdomen. They were close... so damned close. They could see their apex... their place in the stars that were beyond reality; hear the echoing promises, encouraging them to move faster... faster... faster... harder... deeper... faster... Taking Sasuke's hands in his and meeting his lust-filled gaze, they jumped into the maelstrom of their emotions... their maelstrom.

**:END:**

Author's notes: This fic had been written quite a long time ago and at that time, Kishimoto didn't bring up what happened to Sasuke's cursed seal after his battle with Itachi. I didn't bother changing it once, it was brought up because... I liked it this way.

Anyway, thank you so much for reading. For those who are also reading Secession, please visit my profile for a special announcement.


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